A Single Man

Here are two portraits I did over the weekend of Colin Firth and Julianne Moore from the insanely stylish Tom Ford film A Single Man.

Hope you had an amazing Halloween weekend, you can see my costume on Twitter here (Ryan and I went to a Halloween party as Mary Poppins & Bert). Will be watching a scary movie while eating homemade caramel popcorn and candy tonight, before getting back to work on my portfolio + other graduation prep stuff.

Sunday Style Section: Happy Halloween!

Even though Halloween isn't until tomorrow, the weekend festivities sure have commenced so you might feel a little like this today. I know I am. Hopefully looking half as glamorous as Phyllis Kirk does here.

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Illustration Friday: Fuel

Here's a quick little digital painting I did for this week's Illustration Friday topic: fuel. Coffee is obviously fueling me through these last two months of school!

Spades

I painted this casino for an assignment to redesign the 1960s version of Ocean's Eleven. Obviously, Spades is very inspired by one of the best casino signs of all time, the (now defunct) Stardust. Unfortunately, all casinos in the 60s looked like banks with flashy signs, so no fancy architecture liberties were taken.

See it large here.

New Frontier

Illustration based on this New York Times book review of The Keats Brothers. It's a portrait of the famed poet John Keats' less famous brother, George Keats. George didn't make history, but he did make it across the Atlantic and found adventure in the new American frontier.

This feels like the beginning of something new and wonderful for me as well.

LA Mill, the brunch version

I've discussed at length the merits of L.A. Mill's coffee, but yesterday morning I further researched their food service boutique. While portions are smaller than you'd be used to, the atmosphere is nice and laid back for a Sunday morning of sketching and brainstorming big ideas with your favorite person.

The lattes are also really good. Ryan had a creme brulee latte that really tasted like creme brulee. How is that possible?

Sunday Style Section: An Ace Up Your Sleeve

Secret messages are always nice to have sewn into your collar...or bracelet.

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Happy Birthday, Mary Blair!

Today is Mary Blair's 100th birthday, and I had the good fortune of attending an event hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honoring her work last night. She's one of the biggest influences on my own work, including giving me the courage to leave the professional world to go back to school for illustration. Her style is incredibly popular with many of my peers, and I'm so happy to see all the joy, color and whimsy reappear in the art world.

Last night's event featured a panel with her friend and fellow Disney legend, Alice Davis, and her niece, Maggie Richardson. This was the best part of the evening - especially since Alice, at 82, was more than wonderfully reverent and candid. My favorite quote of the night was from her, who said of Mary: "She was nice, but if you do her in, she'll do you in too."

Illustration Friday: Scattered

Here's another digital painting done for this week's Illustration Friday topic, Scattered. This is how you'll find me most mornings, and the landscape around my closet. (Except not blonde).

Sunday Style Section: Fresh 60s

I'm working on a 1960s fashion project, and while doing research I stumbled across this stunning photo of Twiggy. She looks so fresh and pretty! And damn that's a big braid.

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Ten Paces and Draw!

A month ago I was contacted by Alyssa Nassner to participate in the amazing & fun Ten Paces and Draw! If you haven't been before (and why not?!), it's a brilliant collaborative project created by Alyssa & Rachel Dougherty. There's a theme each week, and artists swap sketches and finish each other's work. I think it's a genius idea for building a community among illustrators, and I'm so happy to be a part of it.

Lots of beautiful work there, so check it out now! Also, see the original sketch I finished on here. Thanks for having me, Alyssa & Rachel!

P.S. This is my first ever digital painting! I'm addicted to our Cintiq now, and can't wait to do more.

Not A Canary

The black-headed weaver can be found in open bush and wooded areas near water in West, Central and East Africa. They are gregarious, highly social and noisy by nature, feeding in large flocks and socializing with other species of weavers and starlings. Though polygamous, males weave a nest out of grass and palm fronds, and hang out underneath it singing and flapping to attract a female. After one female accepts, he begins building another one to attract another female. A successful male can attract up to five females. (Whatta hounddog!)

Island Fox

Just an Island Fox.

A Babirusa Offering

Things are non-stop busy right now, so here is a painting of a babirusa from That's Not My Name as a humble offering and thank you for being awesome.

Oh, and here is some information on the babirusa, taken directly from my book:

Babirusas are wild pigs native to the Indonesian islands. Its Indonesian name "babirusa" translates into "pig-deer". They can be found in the tropical forest, and are omnivores but feed mainly on fruit. Males have tusks that are formed from their canine teeth, and if not worn down the tusks can grow long enough to pierce the animal's skull. Babirusas are gifted swimmers and have been known to travel across wide bodies of water to reach small islands.

Pretty Inspired

Our weekend at APE was super great! Along with my boyfriend Ryan and my friend Allison, I sold some books and pins, met lots of inspiring new people, and brought home delightful work from other artists. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by our tables for your kind words and support!

The most unexpected part about the whole experience was how much I learned about my own work based on what people responded to, and important things to focus on next. So if you've ever toyed with the idea of showing at a convention, you should DO IT! Now I'm really motivated to make! more! awesome! work!

P.S. All books and new prints will be up in a shop as early as next Monday. Stay tuned...


photo courtesy of jeff sprier
pop flower and backdrop courtesy of my gals at ban.do

Sunday Style Section: Three Ring Circus

Lately I've been finding the best rings on Etsy. I was never much of a multi-ring girl, but I'm changing my tune. These really knock-out druzy ones are the prettiest. Find them here and here.

photos from decofox