Honestly, I’m a lousy girlfriend. Am I likely to do anything for my boyfriend on Valentines Day? Anything? NO. The upside of course is that I genuinely don’t need to be wined and dined for old Saint Val’ either.
Just every other day of the year.
The Introduction to Fashion Illustration course will run just twice this year. It’s a fun and very comprehensive 8 sessions starting from the absolute basics of figure proportions and how to get the body on paper fast, covering faces, legs, then brilliant media technique including marker pens, watercolour paints, and collage. You can do this course even if you have literally never drawn before, or if you’ve actually drawn quite a bit but need to brush up or maybe try a new approach. I am a very experienced and qualified teacher and I have my own way of teaching fashion illustration. Warning – these classes are addictive! More here.
I’m currently on a bootcamp of my own – since precisely half my summer was spent coughing up a lung (“Flemtastic” – you remember??), my fitness has hit a point lower than I knew possible. When the zip broke on the dress I wore to a party last weekend, that was the last straw; enter bootcamp-style return to exercise. It hurts guys, it hurts..
What won’t hurt though, is the Fashion Illustration Bootcamp I’ll be taking on March 5th. I have tailor-made it to suit complete beginners – even those who haven’t drawn since kindergarten – OR those who have just become a little rusty. We will start at the absolute basics of figure proportions and what a fashion figure actually means, then learn my very excellent method for getting that fashion sketch down on paper fast, and even take it through to some fun coloured figures. All in one day – that’s why it’s called a Bootcamp – it’s like a mini course in fashion illustration.
My fashion illustration classes are kept small (6-12 people) so that you get plenty of one-on-one attention. There are snacks and afternoon tea, tunes, and a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Nothing not to love… You can check out more here.
You know, I look around on hot days – particularly the high-thirties ones that we’ve been having a lot of in Melbourne lately – and think “how the hell are so many of these women managing to look chic in this hell-mouth weather?” If the temperature tips 25 my feet start inflating like airbags, and don’t even think about putting shoes on! “Fluid retention.” Yeh I know, I’ve heard that before.. So I try not eating salt. Same. I try more salt. Same same!
Age has taught me to just roll with it (literally).
It’s official – I am well and I am working again. Quelle horreur! I know. But if you’re going to get dragged back into work mode, what a sweet sweet way to go… I’ll be live-sketching guys and dolls tomorrow at So Frenchy So Chic at Werribee Park mansion. Oui. C’est ma vie, et c’est bon!
Flemtastic? I know, not very Xmassy, right? And what’s with missing Christmas by 3 days anyway? It’s called pneumonia people, and I got it, just in time for Xmas and holidays.
Enough said.
Bottles boxes jars – these are the things I cannot throw away. So many uses! So many possibilities! I have surreptitiously carried home from the other side of the world many of all of these – a cherry-shaped bottle that used to contain cherry soda from Brooklyn, a packaging box handed to me in London containing a dress I couldn’t afford – you get the picture?
So finding inspiration for this scent-ingredient illustration that was part of the huge perfume job I did was, well…simples.
Amongst the plethora of client work I’ve been doing of late is a bunch of fragrances (more on that to come) and a few of their beautiful natural ingredients – like this lemon and lime. Speaking of lemons, where was this illustration a few months ago when I had an enquiry asking “Do you have any illustrations of lemons?”. Now, this can be filed under “What Grinds My Gears” (correct – with everything else!) – because I didn’t have actual illustrations of lemons in my folio, but hey, pretty much everything else, I didn’t get the job! Do not start me. Suffice to say, to anyone who wonders, yes, if I can draw complex human figures and faces then yes, I can draw a lemon. And pairs! And apples! Got it?
Pretty pink peony..
A dewy white flower.
Some woody spices..
What began as a simple inky portrait for jewellery brand Emma & Roe (part of the Michael Hill jewellery business) – see previous post – has now turned into a new look for the brand, and that look is illustration! Whoop etc, boy do I love it when people appreciate the uniqueness that an illustration gives to a page, an advertisement, anything…
So after submitting a bunch of character sketches we chose this one and created a suite of her which changes expressions and even gives you a cheeky wink – you can find the animation on their TV commercials which are mainly in Queensland (where the brand is based), but have been spotted down south so keep your eyes peeled. She took on such a personality for us we decided to name her – meet Lucinda, who can be found all over the Emma & Roe November campaign.
I’ve just completed a big bunch of illustrations for Xmas also so stay tuned for those in a few weeks..
I love doing portraits of people, getting a likeness and knowing it has a real feel of them. This recent portrait commission for jewellery brand Emma & Roe was a fun one where I got to practice my ink techniques, a work in progress..
