One of my Barcelona photo’s has just been Schmap’d - it shows one of the many lovely buildings in the Gothic Quarter. I was there volunteering at a summit, working on ways to build rabies awareness. Check out info on rabiesfree.org if you’re in/traveling to a rabies endemic area or click to vaccinate a dog in the Philippines. 1 click = 1 dollar = 1 vaccine. Cheers.
Here’s a little glimpse inside the studios during the Tribeca Ball…
I’m sneaking in a couple of illos last minute for Illustration Friday’s ‘Breezy’ topic.
I came across these brilliant photo galleries when looking at unusual dwellings. Check out this sumptuous San Francisco in Jell-O byLiz Hickok… a jelly cityscape which eventually decays - Jell-O Shots gallery, First Post. I also love David Trautrimas’ collection of fantasy houses, All Mod Cons, First Post.
This was in my Christmas stocking - and the container is in one of my favourite colours (EDM challenge #180 - fave colour). It’s a little youthful and a long way from my current quest - drawing ’a woman as old as the hills’. This is towards my student project on Hansel and Gretel. This is the description of the woman who turns out to be a scrawny witch in later versions of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm. I am drawing this one from photos, so I’d be grateful for links to photos from which I can make a composite ‘old woman’ who might look OK and welcoming at the beginning but eventually looks scary. Thank you.
As I type, the BBC is revealing snippets of preparations in full swing tonight’s Academy Awards. In honour of ‘the Oscars’ I got up to finish my drawing of a steely gold-cased lipstick - a salute to good old-fashioned Red Carpet glamour. (Everyday Matters challenge #178 - something Red)
Today’s Guardian (a major UK daily) is running friend Sarah McIntyre’sVern & Lettuce comic strip, so I’ve already sneaked a peek to see how it looks and it’s… fantastic! Of course, humble newsprint doesn’t quite do the same justice as the classy matt DFC magazine, home to Vern & Lettuce, however the colour is looking really good. Sarah tells me her comic is running for 12 weeks, so take a look at the Family section of The Guardian (Saturday editions) before recycling!
So much more humble than newsprint is the potato. This morning I sketched some Maris Pipers. Everyday Matters challenge #26: Vegetable. (graphite pencil, marker, coloured pencil)
I enjoyed this article in Design Week on 3D illustration, particularly as it featured the work of Frank Kunert, and in particular his calendar design -Hansel & Gretel are full. It’s not the first untraditional take I’ve seen, (greedy little H&G eating the poor witch out of her house) but it’s the most fun. Yesterday I went all 60s recipe book with a gaudy cake. Today it’s back to nature for EDM challenge #207 - seashell. I picked up this sea urchin shell in Brighton. It’s brown, however I changed the colour palette to be more like kina, an NZ sea urchin with a shell shaped like a pin cushion. Not that this has much to do with Hansel and Gretel which is what I’m meant to be working on right now - only not in 3D.
This week’s Illustration Friday topic is Celebration so here’s a taste of Retro Strawberry Cake. True, it’s a little on the gaudy side… it could definitely do with some photoshop magic, (maybe a moire pattern?) as it’s currently in all my usual media - pencil, coloured pencil, watercolours, inks and gouache, but heck, it’s past midnight here and so it’s nearly the end of this week’s challenge… enough already!
