Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Illustration Friday: Snow

Snow Deer, graphite & watercolor on Rives BFK, 2012.
It's been a while since I've done an Illustration Friday... this week's inspired my design for the Christmas cards I'll be sending friends and family.

It feels funny to be thinking of snow when it's 60 degrees in Philadelphia!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Sketchbook Project: Gondolas & Gelato

Gondolas,  pen, watercolor & acrylic ink on Rives BFK, 7 x 10", 2012.
Gelato, pen, watercolor & acrylic ink on Rives BFK, 7 x 10", 2012.

I have been a horrible blogger lately! Here's a loooooong overdue post.

I'm continuing my Venice sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project. Whenever anyone thinks of Venice they probably think about gondolas. I've been to Venice twice, but never ridden in a gondola. Why? Because they cost way too much! It's more fun to just walk around and explore yourself anyway.

I love gelato. I ate gelato at least once a day in Venice.... sometimes more! The best stuff is in a little shop in Campo San Margherita. My favorite flavor is "crema de doge". Mine is being scooped in the picture below..mmmmmmm! It's cold in Philly today, but I still could go for some gelato.

PS: Go vote!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Fall Runway Trends

1.Marchesa 2. Corrine Bailey Rae in Louis Vuitton 3. Tavi Gevinson
Yikes... I've been SUPER bad at keeping up with the blog lately, and keeping up with everyone else's. I have a lot of feed reading to do!

Anyway, I thought I'd share some fashion illustrations I drew for Rob Jelinski and Corin Wright's  wonderful Runway event at Style Haven that took place yesterday. All of the illustrations for this event were inspired by fall trends. The illustration above shows three trends: brocade fabric, floral crowns, and embellished collars. I knew I had to draw the Louis Vuitton collar when I saw this photo of Corrine Bailey Rae.

1. Burberry 2. Hermes 
I focused on two men's trends, chunky knits and fall hats.

1. Michael Kors 2. Gwen Stefani in Stella McCartney

There are a lot of head to toe prints in this year's fall clothing; I was inspired by this photo of Gwen Stefani. Wine colored coats are also everywhere... it's a nice change from black or camel.

1. Dolce & Gabbana 2. Miu Miu

My last illustration focused on lace and statement earrings.

All of my illustrations were created with gouache and graphite on Rives BFK. They were blown up and printed on 23x36" PVC board for the Runway event, and are available for purchase at Style Haven.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Runway Flyer

Recently, Rob Jelinski asked me to work on an illustration for a flyer for a fashion event. The end result is above, all design work is done by Rob Jelinski. I will also have other fashion illustrations on display during this event. Here's the event description:
Runway will be the showroom of fashion, style, trends, and the arts all on one red carpet! This collaborative, hosted by trend-setting curator Rob Jelinski and fashion guru Corin Wright, will feature glamorous gallery illustrations, new and vintage fashions, artistic accessories, make up and hair design, and one-of-a-kind garments celebrating fall fashion from seasoned veterans and emerging artists.
Join us at Style Haven on September 8th from 7-9pm for opening night with cocktail hour, live music, and a glamorous fashion show! 
If you are interested in attending there are more details on this facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/512342795449635/

Here's a look at some of my preliminary drawings:
 Hope to see you there!


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Firenze

Firenze, acrylic ink & graphite on watercolor paper, 20 x 24", 2012.
On Sunday I went to the Capo D'Opera art gala in Montclair, NJ. This was my illustration of Florence for the gala. All of the art was Italian themed, and the food was delicious. Thank you to Rob Jelinski for curating the event. If you'd like to see photos of the gala visit Edward Chan Photography's blog; the photo below is courtesy Edward Chan Photography.

Edward Chan Photography
If you are interested in purchasing the original artwork, please contact Trattoria Rustica.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Preview: Capo D'Opera


Oops! I haven't posted for over a month!!! I have been working on all sorts of things; I'll try to post most of them up this month for you.

This is a little peek at my drawing for the Capo D'Opera Art Gala at Trattoria Rustica. This photo was taken when it was still a work in progress; if you'd like to be one of the first people to see the whole finished drawing, come out on Sunday night. The whole event is put together by Rob Jelinski, and there will be wonderful Italian food, art, and music. Click on the picture below for more info:

designed by Rob Jelinski

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sketchbook Project: Inside Cover & 1st Page

Inside Cover, acrylic ink, micron pen & gold marker on cardboard, 7 x 10", 2012.
It was sooo hot in Philadelphia today, so I just stayed inside and worked on my Sketchbook Project. My 2013 sketchbook will be a travelogue about Venice.

The horses on the inside cover are the four bronze horse statues on the roof of Basilica San Marco.

 

I really like the way the gold paint picks up light. I went over the whole cover with a gloss varnish to protect it.
Inside Cover & First Page
 I rebound the sketchbook with a cream colored Rives BFK, so the pages would be strong enough to hold paint. The first page is a drawing of an entrance way into Piazza San Marco. My boyfriend, Zack is saying "andiamo" which means "let's go!" in Italian. He's been to Venice twice with me, and he's a great travel companion/ tour guide.

Andiamo, watercolor, acrylic ink & micron pen on Rives BFK, 5 x 7", 2012.
 Here's a close-up of the first page.


And, here's a look at the front cover with the cut-out speech bubble.

I have LOTS more pages to fill, but it definitely fells good to get the first page done. Did you sign up for the 2013 Sketchbook Project? What is your theme? If you didn't, you really should!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

5 Blogs You Should Be Reading: Sketchbook Project Edition!

I've reached 85 posts for this blog, so I'm sharing another "5 Blogs You Should Be Reading" post with my readers!

This time I'm featuring five of the thousands of artists who have participated in the Sketchbook Project. Most of them are from Rob Jelinski's Read List... take a look at his site to see all 25 featured artists. The Sketchbook Project is currently touring the world; if you'd like to see some of the great sketchbooks in person stop by the ArtHouse Co-op site to see when they'll be in your city!

1. Vin Ganapathy

Vin Ganapathy is an illustrator from Brooklyn. I'm very excited to feature Vin's work; he's currently one of my very favorite illustrators. I absolutely love how he draws people. His 2012 Sketchbook Project (the first image) is titled "I Remember You" and is full of tiny ink figures. It's amazing how clean his work is,  and you'll swear you recognize some of the people in his book... they could be your neighbors!
Links! Website * Blog * Art House Co-op * Facebook * Flickr * Twitter

2. Charlotte Vallance

Charlotte Vallance is an illustrator from the UK. She draws beautiful buildings and travel scenes in her Sketchbook Projects; the first image is from her Limited Edition Sketchbook project. I love her sweet style. She also draws and designs beautiful stationary on sale in her etsy store. If you see her 2012 Sketchbook Project in person be sure to read the last page!
Links! Blog * Sketchbook Blog * Art House Co-op * Facebook * Twitter * Etsy

3. Koosje Koene

Koosje Koene is an illustrator from Amsterdam. I got to meet her in person at the Sketchbook Project 2012 opening; she is awesome! Her sketchbook (the first image) is titled "Millie's Marvelous Monsters" and reads like a children's book. It's really well done and adorable. The second image is from the Art-House Co-op 4 x 6 Exchange... I love this crowd drawing! Check out Koosje's blog for lots of drawings and Illustration Fridays.
Links! Blog * Art House Co-op * Facebook * Twitter * Etsy

4. Hazel Ang

Hazel Ang is an illustrator who currently resides in Germany. Her blog, Paintblotch is full of beautiful renderings of girls and animals. If you get a chance to see her Sketchbook Project in person, do it! It's a beautifully painted treehouse in an accordian folded book... the picture above doesn't do it justice! If you'd like to see her in action there's a video of her drawing here.
Links! Blog * Arthouse Co-op * Google+ * Twitter * Ustream

5. Anil Singh

 Anil Singh is an artist from Toronto. I am always extremely jealous of people with lettering skills, so I'm extra, extra jealous of Anil. His Sketchbook Project 2012 and Limited Edition sketchbook are full of wonderful hand-lettering. His blog explores all things artistic: drawing, screenprinting, lettering, and everything in between, as well as impressive food and yoga posts.
Links! Blog * Website* Art House Co-op * Twitter


There you have it! Go to their blogs and hit the follow button, or subscribe to their RSS feeds... you won't be sorry! While you're at it go ahead and visit all of the other links.You won't be disappointed.
 There are so many great Sketchbook Project artists, and that made it super hard to decided on just 5 for this post. I have a feeling that the next post like this will feature more fabulous people from the Sketchbook Project.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, pen & ink on Rives BFK, 11 x 14", 2012.
I finished my Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds illustration. I love the Beatles!

I was inspired by posters of the 60s, especially the Fillmore concert posters

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Illustration Friday: Shiny

Preliminary Drawing, graphite & colored pencil on bristol board, 11 x 14", 2012.
What is shiny?

Stars are shiny.
Diamonds are shiny.

Can you guess what this drawing illustrates? Hint: It's a song.

Hopefully I'll have a final version posted soon!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Sketchbook Project: The Cover

Cover, acrylic & micron pen on cardboard, 7 x 10", 2012.
I started on this year's Sketchbook Project. I decided my theme would be a visual travelogue of Venice, one of my favorite places ever. Like last year, the first thing I did was to take the whole thing apart and work on the cover. I'm going to rebind it with heavier paper so I can use paint.

The drawing on the cover is the Piazza San Marco. I figured it was appropriate because it's one of the most recognizable spots in Venice.

Has anyone else started this year's project? Which theme did you choose?

Monday, May 21, 2012

Illustration Friday: Sight

Babe the Blue Ox, micron pen & watercolor on Rives BFK, 6 x 6", 2012.
I've been feeling super unproductive lately. I've had too many false starts on drawings and projects, so I took a break and did this week's Illustration Friday.

This week's theme is "sight", and for some reason the first thing I thought of was Babe the Blue Ox, Paul Bunyan's pet. When winter came Babe was depressed, and couldn't find enough to eat. Paul Bunyan got him custom-made green glasses; everything he saw was green, and Babe ate green snow. It really doesn't make much sense... but the image of a giant blue ox wearing green glasses makes for a fun drawing.

On an unrelated note, I'd like to ask everyone from the US, and especially Pennsylvania, to sign this petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/save-upper-darby-arts-www-saveudarts-org
The school district that educated me is getting rid of all of its art, gym, music, and library teachers in the elementary schools, and foreign language and technology in the middle schools. If you think that these subjects are an important part of public education, please sign! Thank you! You are awesome!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Sketchbook Project 2013!!!

I got some great stuff in the mail this week including artwork from the 4x6 exchange and more fabric for butterfly scarves. The best thing I got was my brand new sketchbook for the 2013 Sketchbook Project! Here's my dilemma: I have NO CLUE what I'm going to put in this sketchbook. The themes are very general, and I wasn't immediately hooked on one like last year's Uncharted Waters theme.

Here are ideas I've had so far:
  • Make a Travelogue about Venice (one of my favorite places in the world)
  • Draw a series of portraits of people I know
  • Draw my neighborhood (The Italian Market in Philadelphia)
  • Illustrate quotes I like
  • Continue last year's mythology theme with constellations
  • OR something else completely different that hasn't crossed my mind yet...
Are you participating in the Sketchbook Project this year (you should)? What are you doing? Inspire me! What are your ideas?


 I illustrated this quote a little while ago, and realized I never posted it! It's definitely sketchbook related, so this post is a great place for it.

If you'd like to see my 2012 Sketchbook Project look on the Art-House Co-op site here (click on it):

Unfortunately, you won't be able to see it on the tour because it's lost... really lost. I don't know where it is (somewhere in Brooklyn??), neither does Art-House or the Postal Service. At least there are still pictures!! I would recommend that anyone participating in the Sketchbook Project this year mail it with signature required... I'm going to hand deliver mine!

Monday, April 30, 2012

Illustration Friday: Jump

Squirrel Jump, gouache & graphite on watercolor paper, 7.5 x 11", 2012.
Here's a quick one for Illustration Friday.

Squirrels are crazy this time of year!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Butterfly Scarf

You know those butterfly drawings I posted a few weeks ago? Well, I made a bunch more, and got them printed on fabric (with some Photoshop help from Zack). I made this scarf for my mom's birthday; it turned out well, so I'll being selling them in my Etsy shop. There's only one available now... until I order more fabric.

I think this is the first time I've put photos of myself on this blog. Drawings, yes.. but photos are weird. I felt very silly taking them. Next time I design a scarf I'm going to recruit someone to be the model. I guess they'd have to be willing to take a scarf as payment :)














Here's a look at the whole design and a close-up of the fabric. I printed it on cotton voile because it's nice and light. It will make it more wearable for the spring and summer.

What do you think? Should I design some others??

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Illustration Friday: Vocal

Ciao, watercolor & graphite on Rives BFK, 8 x 5.5", 2012.
I haven't done Illustration Friday for a little while, so I drew a little toad for this week's theme. The weather's getting warmer, and it's almost time to hear the little frogs and toads peeping at night. This one doesn't peep or ribbit though... it's a sophisticated Italian toad.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Hive Notecards

I liked the little bee drawing I completed for the 4 x 6 Exchange, so I made it a friend! I hope bees start to make a big comeback... we really do need them.

I also printed them onto notecards. If you'd like one and you live in Philly, you can purchase it at Betty's Speakeasy (along with bunny notecards!). If you don't live in Philly, I've also listed them in my Etsy shop.







The notecards are blank inside. It's a good thing too... If I put something inside a bee card it would either be something cheesy like "BEE Happy!" or a really bad bee joke. I love bad jokes!

Who was the bee's favorite singer??
Sting!!

See? It's better they're blank.

Friday, March 30, 2012

5 Blogs You Should Be Reading

I reached 75 posts... woohoo!!

When I wrote my 50th post I featured 5 bloggers I found since starting my blog, I'm doing the same for 75! If you'd like to read about the first 5 fantastic bloggers go here.

Here are some great art and design blogs Ive found through Flickr, Illustration Friday, and the Sketchbook Project:

1. Concertina Press

Ruth Bleakley is a bookbinder and stationary designer from Massachusetts. I was automatically drawn to her stationary design; it combines two of my favorite things: vintage illustration and the ocean. If you have a Pinterest account you'll drool over the beautiful nautically themed boards she puts together! Check out her other blog on her website for even more inspiration.
Links! Website * Blog * Etsy * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest

 2. Mat Pringle

Mat Pringle is an illustrator from London. I think his 'Spirit Bears of California' series is fantastic, lately he's been balancing his colorful, quirky bears with somber black and white illustrations of musicians, writers, and other notable faces. He's had work printed on Threadless... I own several Threadless shirts, so I think this is beyond awesome!
Links! Website * Blog * Etsy * Twitter * Flickr * Threadless

 3. Rubin Pingk

Rubin Pingk's illustrations are detailed, fantastic, and sometimes just plain strange... so of course I'm a fan. I especially like any of his illustrations with bug and beetle elements. If you look through his blog you'll probably notice another reason why I'm an obvious fan: Batman illustrations! If you know me, then you'll know that I've read soooo many Batman comics. He's also got a great sense of humor!
Links! Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Art House Co-op * Skine Art

4. Helena Perez Garcia
 Helena Perez Garcia is a designer and illustrator from Spain. I love her modern day fairy tale illustrations, and started following her blog as soon as I saw them. Her balance of color and black and white makes her illustrations unique and striking... she has a one-of-a-kind style that I'd be able to spot from across the room. She recently started printing her illustrations on shirts available here.
Links! Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Flickr * Big Cartel

5. Rob Jelinski

Last, but definitely not least is New Jersey designer, Rob Jelinski. This guy's done so much work to promote The Sketchbook Project. On his blog you'll find profiles of artists from around the world and their sketchbooks along with other cool Sketchbook Project videos, events and inspiration. His own sketchbooks are crazy impressive (this is his second year with the project). On top of all of that goodness you'll find quality graphic design work on his website; next time you need design work keep him in mind!
Links! Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Art House Co-op * YouTube

There you have it! Go to their blogs and hit the follow button, or subscribe to their RSS feeds... you won't be sorry! While you're at it go ahead and visit all of the other links. It's Friday! You deserve to spend some time looking at beautiful things on the internet :)

I had such a hard time deciding who to feature for this post. I read so many great blogs by so many talented people! I'm toying with the idea of having features like this every 10 posts instead of 25.

What do you think? Do you enjoy these as much as me? Should I post these more often?
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