New Drawing AND some Updates!!

It's been a long time... I've been uber busy, distracted, uninspired, but mostly busy... Personal life has been a little hectic. Creative life, well, a little crazy too. I've been a little unmotivated with my painting for a while now, so I've turned to drawing. Doing illustrations and the like...

This is NOT a recent drawing, I've just been taking forever uploading things! As you can see, she's living in a dilapidated sketchbook, with a few battle scars...
Lola Illustration

2010

[Clicky click thumbnails below for details]

I've been hoping for a scanner, to get better images. (Still waiting)... Another thing I'm waiting on... a graphic tablet... I have really taken to editing/enhancing my illustrations digitally. Sooo many possibilities, soo little mess, hardly annny cleanup haha. But, if I continue to hold off posting my drawings until I get said items, I will NEVER post anything, so my dearies, you will be getting more of my drawings *in the raw* lol... More sketches, more "works in progress" ..."samples" if you like? Because I still have big plans for them, and I will DEFINITELY share the finished works of art when they are done ^__^

Oh yeah... and I mentioned a certain "update"... Ever heard of The Squirrely Girly?? You will...

Keep Calm, Carry On

"Keep Calm, Carry On"

Mixed Media. 2010

For this, I created an ink and watercolor drawing, then went in and added more digitally. I really like how it turned out. Funny thing is, I hated the original drawing and almost threw it out. Instead, I left her sitting in my sketchbook for a good year or more, all the while adding a little more to her from time to time. One day I decided to break out the watercolors, and the rest is history. It kind of reminds me of Danny Roberts' work?

I am reeeally happy with how it turned out. It's a little different, but I'm having lots of fun working with color and playing with different media. Tons of fun... One of my fave details is in the shot above- The Russian graffiti in the background (check out the paint drips!) and Zac Posen's braided spike headband.

And just another closeup, so you can really see the colors and textures. I love the lace collar! Very pleased with it. Reminds me of Prada's A/W08 collection.

"One Day..." Illustration

"One Day This Will All be an Irrelevant, Bad Dream"

Mixed Media

2010

Lara Jade Photography Illustration

I've been a little behind posting on all my different sites, so some of you may have seen this on flickr, or maybe not. I've been a looong time fan of photographer/model Lara Jade (photo of Jade taken by Jingna Zhang), and am continually drawing inspiration from her.

This piece is my own interpretation of a photo created for an avant garde editorial for Masquerade Magazine.

While this has been met with different reactions, I have to say, it is by far one of my favorite pieces to create. What I loved about the original photo was Jade's ability to capture such energy and raw emotion in a photograph. Plus, the incredible styling.

Headpiece by the fabulous Luke Abby, Rings inspired by Gisele Ganne.


I feel this piece gave me an opportunity to create something different. I was able to experiment with tons of different media and alter my style to create an edgier/editorial illustration.

**For more of Lara Jade's work, you can check out her official site or follow her here on blogger or on flickr.

Sketch Journaling

Sooo long story short, I've been doing a ton of writing, another hobby/outlet of mine, and it always finds its way into my drawing, so thus, sketch journaling lol. Again, since I have not had the discipline to do painting, I've been doing small scale drawings, and am posting them here for anyone who wants insight into my mind haha.

Minerva. 7/10
I *love* Deftones. Thus, this drawing was done under the influence of the song "Minerva" (bet you wouldn't have guessed that). Any way, that is that...

And next, a piece containing so many random elements that somehow magically came together in some mystical strange and unfortunate way lol. (Oh vagueness... how people cannot understand you...) Without going into details, the juxtaposition of the writing, the calligraphy, and the drawing it all goes hand in hand. I wasn't terribly fond of the girl's sweet, pensive expression, but then I thought about "what if" it isn't some tranquil line of thought she's persuing? Some of us are a little nuts...

risk, caution. 7/2010

And so, if I haven't lost you yet, and you're still reading, I apologize for my blabbery. Business and personal junk aren't supposed to mix, but right now, I can't find the ability to seperate the two. Please put up with me, I promise you I will eventually have something else for you folks haha.

(bulletproof) illustration

So... the last couple of months I have had no drive whatsoever to finish anything. I get half way through a painting then get super bored with it and let it sit on my easel for a couple months until I feel like messing with it again... sad sad... However, I have been doing a lot of sketching in my War-and-Peace-length leather bound sketchbook... lots of writing/sketching combos. Some just doodles, some complete illustrations. It's so completely freeing, because there are no expectations before me, I can take it anywhere, and it's a small surface, so it doesn't take as long to finish things. Plus, because it's a sketchbook, it gives me freedom to do whatever I feel like, regardless of how it turns out. It's really, really nice. So for the next couple of days/weeks, I'm going to be sharing some illustrations from my book.

(bulletproof)

Had some fun with a Kelly Smith inspired drawing. Pencil and acrylic.

Again, I apologize for the crappy resolution. I have postponed posting these because I have been waiting for a scanner to miraculously appear in my presence, but that has STILL not happened, so, camera photos instead... one day... one day...

Rant and Rave

Another old pic, since I have nothing new to post lol...

Sooo angry!! My stupid Photoshop isn't working, and my iTunes is goooone!! My music!!! noooo!! Completely unnecessary for any of you to know, or care about, but I am angry! And in need of an outlet for my anger... sigh...

Lanvin Lady

Hello all. I've been busy with school and work, so no time to post. I'm working towards becoming a member at 500x Gallery for next season (starting in August/September). Got my submission turned in, so I should be hearing from them in the next couple of months.

In the meantime, I was playing around with my last illustration, trying to come up with an editorial style illustration. I don't really know what to do with it lol. Click on the image to view up close ^__^

Lanvin Spring 2010 Styling

As usual, the photos suck, but I'm still pretty happy with how this turned out. While I was in Houston, I just spent my idle time doodling away, and this is one of the products. She's based off an editorial featuring Lanvin's Spring 2010 Beauty. (Lots of smokey eyes, whispy updos, and bleached brows)

I really liked the model- as you can see, she had some really sharp, stunning features, and serious attitude. I'm happy with how this turned out, especially with limited art supplies while I was away lol.



I have a couple ideas for finishing this. I like it as a simple black and white illustration, but I think a few subtle colors might be nice, or just a severe black background-- lots of different directions to take it in. That's usually why I choose to color some of my drawings digitally, because I don't want to be tied down to just ONE result.

Chicago Drawing

Meant to post this when I got back from Chicago, but never did. Just a little something from my sketchbook I drew on the plane. I used a photo of Kate Moss as reference; I've never drawn her before, and she's got some unusual features, so mehh?? It's a sketchbook drawing I did on a bumpy plane, take it or leave it haha...


It's actually a blue pencil drawing on cream colored paper, but they always just turn out looking yellow. Then, when I try to edit the colors digitally, it makes the actual drawing very grainy.

Excuses, excuses, I know. Seriously, one day I will get a decent scanner instead of having to photograph everything with a shakey camera haha.

Came on a late flight home, and got bored, so I doodled the bottle of YSL perfume Kate was modeling lol... (still lifes, wooo...)

i-D Magazine Cover

Okay, okay, so it's a mock-up, not the real deal... but I thought it would be fun to play around with!Working on getting a new portfolio together to try my hand at illustration... Thought some editorial mock-ups might be a nice touch, to see what could be done...

Illustrations

I've been a little uninspired with painting lately, so I've gone back to my roots with pencil drawings. This time however, I've taken a different route, and I'm trying to shake things up a bit. I LOVE the work of illustrators Kelly Smith and Bec Winnel. They are both working out of Australia, and their art has been featured in tons of shows, fashion editorials, and magazine covers! I LOVE that they can both succeed in the art world, as well as commercially, in the fashion industry. Very inspiring to me! ^__^


Rose Colored. 2010. Alex Teale

I just felt like drawing and playing with color, so I picked up a cream colored sketch pad and half heartedly started sketching. Then I really got into it, ans started getting all kinds of ideas for a new series. Any way, I don't want to go nuts and change up what I do JUST for other people, JUST to sell art. But, I do want to push myself and try new things, just to see what I can do, or rather, what I like to do. Any way, this was the first one from that endeavor, and I'm kind of pleased with it. I was kind of excited to share it, but of course, the photo quality is terrible lol...

Limited Edition Prints

Little drawing...

Getting caught up on a week's worth of recorded shows and felt like I was wasting time watching tv, so I picked up my sketchpad to make myself feel like I was "doing something" lol. I was inspired by one of the most amazing photos from the Paris fashion shows. This chick had craaazy cool hair. I felt like drawing it. I was more concerned with getting the color of her hair right lol. Attempt number one. The pics are terrible because of the horrible glare but it won't get any better any time soon, so c'est la vie... whatever.

Collage

Got my collage thrown together about an hour or two before class haha. I ended up taping everything up to a crappy crooked foam board lol. I think it turned out alright, considering everything. I really like the colors, but unfortunately, they kind of photographed yellow. Oh well. Here it is...  (click on the pics to view closer)

The assignment was to make a collage about "me" which I thought was super boring so instead I opted to take artistic licence and make it about what inspires me as an artist. touche! So I did little drawings based on my favorite muses, people who inspire me with their own artistic visions (photographers, musicians, artists, designers), and a few people who have shaped my thinking along the way.

Above I have Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), muses Meghan Collison, Coco Rocha, and Sasha Pivovarova, as well as a drawing inspired by the photography of Lara Jade, and last, a drawing based off an old photo of my grandmother.


















And pictured above is Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA and conservative pundit (HAAA) who continues to impart gifts of irony and satire to closet comedians such as myself- as well as the lovely Lily Donaldson as seen in one of my favorite photos. Plus, she kind of looks like Rachel Deschanel in my drawing, which is cool with me too (another muse).

It's quite hard to photograph, so unfortunately you are getting the crappy version of it : (
It's actually kind of like a widescreen/panoramic view. The idea was kind of like people on a stage. Some are in the background, and others, like ol' rabbit ears, actually are hanging off the edge of the stage. And then there's kind of a support collumn running through the center and far left of the stage. I hope to get some scans eventually. Until then...

Burberry

Not my fav drawing ever, but it's something. Some of you may recognize it from Burberry's recent ads, featuring the lovely Lily Donaldson. My drawing looks nothing like Lily, but whatever. I was working with limited resources and time haha. Any way. Progress shots of my painting coming soon.

"It's not like I care..."

Been listening to Deftones non stop for a month now (hence the title). Oh how they hurt so good...
Here's a quick peek at a sketch I did in class, totally paying attention lol.

And moving on, for the people who actually read posts...

OMG. Long story short, the last couple of months have been tumultuous to say the least. I'm slowly losing someone very near and dear to my heart. Things change, people go away, blah blah. Pretty much neck and neck with the other "suckiest moments in my life" (those being the deaths of two figureheads in my family). ANY WAY so with this painting I'm working on, it's dealing with that. I wanted to build up the surface of the canvas with scraps of letters, journal entries, mementos, etc-- basically memories and thoughts and reminders of this person. Not necessarily so people could read it, but so that I know they're there. I just want to put all my feelings and unspoken words out there for my own sake. Ever read Dorian Grey? Well, basically this painting will be like Dorian Grey's portrait for me- I get to live my life as I will, and the painting in turn can rot behind a curtain and bear these scars for me so I don't have to. I'm pouring my heart out onto this canvas so to speak, plastering it in my own tears and pain, words spoken from the heart. It feels like the symbolic release one has when burning photographs or memories. I hope that makes sense. Guess not. Oh well. Looks like a tombstone right now. My whole point... leave the dead buried. Those old letters I dug out were harder to do than I ever thought they'd be. Plastering them up there for people to see (heck, for me to see) feels like being naked and exposed. When they're painted over, even just a little, it'll be okay. But right now, they're horrible reminders. Who knew...

Better Pics of the Colab Project

Special thanks to Donna over at True Until Death for posting these images! I was invited by her artists group to be a part of their collaberation project (check out 1001 journals for info). Here are some of my collaberations with people!
PLEASE click on the images for a closer look!

Lady Ada. 2009. Alex Teale & Andy Kubecka.

Lady Ada/ Part II. Alex Teale

BUNNIES! Alex Teale & Donna Kubecka

Inspired by Elise over at Argyle Whale! LOVE her! x0

Another Lovely

Hello! Just wanted to post a drawing I did a while back, in July or so. Click the picture for a closer look!

"Another Lovely"

Ink. 2009

It's 5am & work called in sick!

The power went out at work, so I don't have to go in for a while now!!! Any way, here's something I started on a while back. These are test shots (I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with her) but now that I see these I think I'm going to stick with the 3-d effect instead of glueing her down. What do you think?