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...

(letdown)

Hello my pretties... it's been a while... still nothing new to share with you (no time!) Still busy preparing for the Houston Art Walk, trying to get things finished and made, blah blah... A nice person on flickr reminded me of this piece I did a few years ago and I thought, just for kicks, I'd share it with you.

I love Radiohead, and some awesome artist did the above portrait of the band as an illustration for Rolling Stone. Loved it so much, I had to keep it but didn't know what to do with it, so I incorporated it into my own little sketchbook art. Acrylic, ink, decoupage, notes from a friend, stickers, etc... Until next time...

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 ^__^

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...)

geez enough already!

I'm seriously tired of not having anything to say around here! I've started tons of projects and haven't finished a single one, and if I have, it's nothing worth posting haha! My Chicago trip was a bit of a flop- I had to come home due to a "situation" back home (my car is now totaled haha). I'm going insane STILL trying to finalize a sale that was initiated just before/after Christmas time... Working on a quilting project (It's for someone else, I'm not that nerdy, okay???) and I think there's lots more, but that just scratches the surface haha. Sorry folks. I feel like I haven't been here in forever!

Remember that Colbert Nation art contest I mentioned a while back? Well, I never really had time to work on a cool James Jean inspired portrait, so I just submitted my original illustration (see above). The contest is kind of having a hard time with gaining momentum, so I'm not sure how it's going to go... (If there aren't enough submissions, then there won't be a contest lol) Everything just seems to be on hold right now *sigh...*

Road trip, Holla

Yup, tomorrow I'm headed for a much needed mini getaway. I've never been to Chicago, but I hear it's a pretty cool city, so I'll give you my input when I get back LOL. Before I go, I just wanted to leave you with a little something.
I did this a while back and have totally forgotten to post it. She's modeled after the lovely Lily Donaldson. The girl has a gorgeous, unique face, and the "unusual" aspects make her really hard to draw. Eegad... I am happy with how this drawing turned out of her (it looks better than some of my others haha). Any who, like it, love it, or hate it, try not to pick her apart too much, because it'll just drive me more nuts if you do haha. Adieu...

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...

"Amaranth" & Updates

"Amaranth"

January 2010

So, I finally got her done... Not really sure what I think, but either way, it's done, and I'll move on! I got all my submissions dropped off today for the upcoming juried show at 500x Gallery. Super excited to find out if I'll be getting in!! I will know sometime between now and Tuesday... I will let you know! I submitted this one, "Paper Whites," "Fight or Flight," and "`a outrance" (the chick in my blog title picture). Any way, lots of obstacles and money put into this, so I'm hoping it works out haha. C'est la vie... ;)

Teaser Pics

Not too much going on right now, just getting stuff ready for the 500x show coming up this month. Submissions are next week, so I'm just getting last minute stuff done. (Framing, touching up, etc) One of the pieces I'm submitting is something I started back in June that I've just put off to the side. I got the figure part done with, but then just got stuck with what direction I wanted to take it in. I've kind of got an idea now, so I'm working toward the finishing touches and polishing it up a bit.

Colbert Concepts...

After posting yesterday I decided to start some sketches to figure out what I might do for the ColbertNation contest. It was just a small little pencil sketch and then today I got bored and messed with it in Photoshop. It's not anything like what I'll be submitting, but I figured I'd post it any way.

Detail from the original:

Color Edit:

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...

Side tracked...

Is that one word or two? Any way, I have some stupid collage project due for a class. It's supposed to "represent ME" and frankly, I hate collages. So the very act of creating a stupid cut and paste collage in fact does NOT represent me. lol. And honestly, if I had to cut and paste found images, I would just find cool pictures that go together and just create a picture, not be "true" to the subject matter. SO, I figured it would be "really easy" to just draw all my own pictures to put into a collage. Well, easier said than done, it's taking me more time than I had hoped haha. Here's a little bit of what I got done today.

It's inspired by the collage work of Danny Roberts, so I thought I'd give a nod to him by giving my girl his signature blush circles. The finished piece will be made up of people or things that inspire me- whether it's the actual people, the designers, or the photographers who took the pictures I'm recreating.

It's honestly way more trouble than it's worth, but the class is NOT challenging AT ALL so I thought I could use this assignment to challenge myself, to work out of my comfort zone or to think a little creatively. Sure, it's not totally "original" but for me, it's something new. PLEASE DON'T READ INTO THIS TOO MUCH, [esp literally] but for me, collaging is more just a craft than "art"- it has its place in the world, and some people are pretty good at creating some nifty things, but for ME actually doing it, it just feels like a tedious hobby. So, I'm trying to put some sort of meaning or effort into it haha.

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.