Playing around

What?! An illustration not based around a figure? Unheard of! I wrote that and then realized only one is not based on a figure. Eh. I'm trying.

Pourquoi Pas? - A Journal of Fashion Illustration

If I had roughly 60 dollars right now to spare, I would be buying Issue 2 of Pourquoi Pas?, a magazine devoted purely to fashion illustration published in the UK. I love the idea that there is a magazine that illustrates its subjects, such as Dita Von Teese, with a series of illustrations rather the a glitzy airbrushed photo shoot. It gives me hope. My college had this crotchety weasel of an agent come in to review our portfolios senior year. Mine went something like " Your book illustrations suck. ( true. I'll give him that) But your fashion illustrations are great... To bad fashion illustration is dead!". Nice guy. I thought he was wrong then and I still do.

What I think it's TIME for

I'm a cheater this week. I wanted to enter Illustration Friday and get a Valentines illustration done too. Here is what I think it's time for this Valentines. Better then flowers and chocolates.

"25 things about me" why won't you leave me alone?

As we all know, Facebook's "25 things about me" is sweeping us all with an infectious rate.
It hits all the trigger points which are-

1) Being a time waster. Don't we need more of those in our lives.
2) A reason for introspection. What topic do we all love more the ourselves?
and 3) What do we love even more then ourselves?
Telling other people about ourselves of course!

I've read a bunch of 25s ( see reason #1) and they range from fun and light
to the really, really personal.
I like to think mine was that happy medium between
"My favorite food is Thai" and "My last blood test revealed that....".
But regardless, "25" inspired a new piece I plan on continuing.
My #7 was- " My mother doomed me to dorky interests. You think the woman that cringed at the pictures of herself with an accordion would know better."
It got me thinking off all the interests I inherited from Mom. She never told me about any of them growing up, I just happened to fall into them on my own.
Well, not the subject of this first piece. This first one is all her!
Her parents decided that she would play the accordion. I can't believe even in 1962 it was remotely cool thing to do. In turn, she repaid them by sentencing me to,
wait for it... the church organ.
Hearing me play the theme song from Cheers must not have been a treat for her so in that I had my revenge. Luckily for all of us, musical talent and I have manage to avoid each other to this day. My stint at the organ was brief but, oh does the memory of it live on...
in countless jokes told by friends.

New Prints

My favorite part of any "corporate" job I've had has definitely been print design. I remember my friend Lara and I sitting in a Starbucks years ago during our lunch break. I had told my new job I knew how to do full repeats in Illustrator. At that time I barely could use illustrator in general! Best way to learn, something new fast? Shear panic. By the end of that lunch mapped out on napkins, I learned how to do repeats.

I'm working on a new collection of prints. Here are two I did yesterday.

Part 1

Research, research, research

I can research a project to death. Before I know it, it's been 4 hours on the computer or in a library. I needed picture of 80s clothing for children for a new piece. And boy did I get some. I actually love the reinterpretation of 80s fashion that are out right now, the bright colors, the bold prints. And I forget that it sooooooooo was not like that. This is what I remember. Eek.
I totally remember rocking the "collegiate" matching sweat pants look. And the zip up neon number? Oh, yeah. I believe I had a summer spent in those. Thank god there aren't any photos.