Masters of Fashion Illustration

Masters of Fashion Illustration is one of the many fashion illustration books I own and adore. It is written by my favorite fashion illustrator David Dowton, who is one of the world's leading fashion artists.  He is best know for his drawings of Paris couture and elegant portraits of some of the world's most beautiful women.

The forward is written by one of them, Carmen Dell'Orefice (illustration by David Dowton.)  This is my favorite illustration in the book for its composition, style and colors! I also love his confident calligraphic lines.

 The book also features the best of the best, such as Erté, Andy Warhol, René Bouché, Antonio Lopez, and many more including book cover by the late Tony Viramontes.

It is a must have for anyone loving fashion illustration!

Asheville Watercolor Map

I had such a great time creating this map for one of my favorite couples! 

Well not at first! ...I have to say, when I started this piece, I offered the bride her money back as I just did not feel my sketches were up to my standards. I had never drawn a map and couldn't create the look I was going for.  Here was her response, which cheered me on.~

"Oh Dana, I just love it!  I am trying hard to see the flaws and be critical and constructive -  but I honestly got little goosebumps and teary eyed I love it so much!  I really think it’s wonderful. I showed it to my mom and she was asking when we get it because she wants to show it off to everyone!  Hopefully this gives you a bit of a boost! I am honestly just so excited to have this hand-crafted piece of artwork representing the town I love and by an artist I admire – even better it represents a time in my life that is so special! I LOVE it! I just can’t wait to share it with everyone! So I thank you again for your honesty and your integrity, I just respect you so much for the hard work you put into what I know is a job that can be thankless and difficult at times! I can’t wait to frame the map and put it in on the wall in our first home as newlyweds (which we started to move into today, how fitting!). So thanks again, I am VERY happy and so excited. You don’t even know, all this special attention has just made it even more special and beautiful – so thank you for making that happen. YAY!"

So that did give me the boost I needed and I felt if she liked my sketches, she would like the final piece - and she did!

"We are just in love with the map, we’ve been showing them off and everyone loves loves loves it!  We loved working with you, too, it was such a special process. And thank you for making all of this happen, and for making it feel like such a wonderful collaborative process! It is rare you get to work with a true artist, and I feel so lucky to get to do it for one of the most special events of my life! So thank you!"

I am so happy I continued to work on it, as it turned out to be one of the most fun projects I have done. I loved adding in little, fun details that were meaningful to this adorable couple. Now I feel ready, and eager, to create more! The maps (or just a collage of favorite places) would make great house warming, wedding or holiday gifts or really a gift or keepsake for any occasion or time of life as you can make each as unique as you like.  They also make great Save the Date cards. My husband now wants me to create one for us!

I cannot wait to share their wedding photos with you. I loved the invitation I designed for the couple, as well as their reception pieces. It truly was one of the most fun weddings I have been a part of!  As soon as I get the professional photographs, I will share ~ or I may share a few I took as a sneak peek soon. :)

Your Presence is Key ~ no. 2

For brides not wanting to add an actual key to this save the date style ~ a hand-painted, illustrated key is the key.

The formal invitation and reception pieces from this wedding coming soon...

Also, I will be posting my J and K - from my alphabet project - together in a few weeks.  For now ~ little time for painting and posting as I am penciling, penning, planting, pruning and pulling. 'Tis the season for spring weddings, time spent working in my gardens and not enough hours in the day!

~~

Sneak Peek: Emily & John

Emily is truly one of the sweetest brides I have ever meet. Working with her and her mother was the most wonderful experience.  Clients like this make me love what I do even more!

Here is a "sneak peek" at this adorable couple in their engagement photo shoot. 

Check back this weekend for the wedding of this cute pair...

 ...and more of their invitation suite.

 

photography ~ Abigail Seymour



For now ~ D is for Daffodil

Because sometimes real life gets in the way ~

the D in my Alphabet Project will be Delinquent until

later next week.

I had several rush orders to get out,

thus the D in Delay.

For now, I leave you with D is for Daffodil ~

which are two illustrations I did, as a gift, for a wonderful client

when their little dog Daffodil died, unexpectedly, last year.

(yes, I did my typical 'two takes' on it,

using two different papers)

...and actually my daffodils are starting to bloom.

It is beginning to look a lot like Spring!

~~~

Something New

This is a sneak peek of something new I may be offering to my clients in the future.  It is my very first "portrait" ~ I say that loosely, as I am still refining.  It is also a sneak peek of her wedding, which I will be posting in the months to come.  This will be a gift to the bride.  She was so precious to work with ~ truly a dream client! and I am most grateful she is allowing me to "practice" on her as I develop my technique (I have another of her in the works). It originally started out that I was going to do a loose sketch of her gown...then I attended a watercolor class on portraits...

When I took my first watercolor portrait class from Janet Rogers a few months ago, I never dreamed how much I would enjoy it.  I painted this bridal portrait, when I returned home, with Janet's encouragement, after showing her some of the sketches I had done of the bride and the gown.  Janet is one of the most amazing and inspiring teachers I have ever had!!  I highly recommend her. I originally signed up for the class because it was florals and portraits, and I was really only interested in the floral portion ...until we got started ~ now I love faces.  I was most afraid to paint the eyes, as there is so much of the personality there, so I started with the eyes looking down on this one, but now I love painting eyes!  My goal is for my next portrait to be a lot looser and livelier.

So, more to come on this later, as well as some exciting classes I have signed up for next year.

Invitation Suites ~ Snipes

I had so much fun creating this invitation suite. 

The bride was using eggplant and mossy greens throughout her wedding and asked me to incorporate these colors into her wedding invitation suite.

It was printed in eggplant on gorgeous Italian paper.

It is difficult to see the true colors of this suite, as I am having some camera issues, but the eggplant ink is truly beautiful. I mixed an ink to address in the same color.

The bride also asked me to illustrate an antique hydrangea for the formal invitation.

After it was printed, I hand-painted each flower.  No two were alike ~ ranging from various shades of purple to dark eggplant.

~Have a lovely week ~

~ April in Paris ~

I wish I could say I was spending the month of April in Paris, but instead I have been busy creating a logo design and illustrations for April in Paris ~ a French Patisserie in Texas.

I met April about five years ago at two separate, week long, calligraphy workshops.  April was there to create a logo for her European bakery and espresso bar.  We had so much fun sharing and getting to know each other.  I lost touch with April soon after and was delighted to hear from her again. During this time she had decided she wanted more and left for NYC and then to Paris for more culinary studies.

While studying in Paris at the Ritz Escoffier and Le Cordon Bleu, her experience inspired her to start a new venture and open April in Paris.

When she contacted me she told me she loved the work I did at the workshop and wanted me to create a logo and some whimsical illustrations for her new bakery and website (not up yet).  She asked me to use the beautiful storefronts and patisserie of Paris, the colors of French macaroons, artisan breads, French silver and fresh ingredients for inspiration.  With those things in mind, and uncertain of exactly what she wanted, I started sketching away.

Here are a few of the illustrations I created for April's website and printed pieces.

artisian breads and pastries

I felt the first pedestal was too dark ~ so I did another ~ but liked the bread in the first one best.  Basically...pretty similar...

...and because I tend to redo things, that most people do not notice (those I have worked for will know this! :), I also drew another storefront, using my first outline. I felt the painting could be better...but in the end, I couldn't tell it was much different either. So, I now have one for my portfolio!

Pâtisserie Stohrer is a favorite of April's and was my inspiration for her storefront illustration.

fresh ingredients

 a macaroon pedestal

mini cupcakes on silver cherub stand

silver serving pieces

a few petits fours ... that didn't scan well

When I showed April several ideas I had for her logo design, her response was so funny, like that only of a baker - "I cannot possibly choose one. It is like looking into a freshly filled pasty case - you have to have a bit of everything!"  So I decided to go with a wheat wreath, encircling the logo, to represent the French artisan breads and pastries she loves to bake.  We then had her business cards engraved in gold on chocolate European paper. She loved that it was like a classic bittersweet chocolate macaroon with a touch of edible gold leaf or classic French gold gilt. Eventually, she wants her business cards to run the full spectrum of macaroon colors "just as the competition for the most exotic colors and flavors continue to unfurl in Paris...with gold gilt engraving, of course."  The first card she chose to use represents her love for the simple chocolate macaroon with a bittersweet chocolate ganache filling.

Creating a "look" for April in Paris was so much fun.  A happy client is the sweetest reward of all! 

From April~

Dana,

I knew you were the one I wanted to do this for me!!

Your illustrations are absolutely poetry in watercolor. I came to you wanting something specific and left with so much more since I entrusted you with so much artistic freedom. Little details I was not sure really came through with my description - you totally brought through.

I couldn't be more happy, unless I were sitting in a bakery on Rue St. Honore having a macaroon!

I cannot quit staring at it all. I am so excited. It is so much beyond what I was thinking. I just absolutely love everything!!!

Merci-

April

~Easter Egg Radishes~

 

I did a few quick sketches of some radishes I bought for my Easter dinner.  As my friend Ronell says, "when all else fails, paint food."  I have not had a lot of time to paint in the last few months, being in the middle of the wedding season frenzy, so I picked up my pen, grabbed my watercolors, and sketched these colorful radishes. I love browsing at the Farmer's Market,  just looking at the beautifully colored fruits and vegetables. Just like flowers, they are a feast for the senses.

Wishing you and your family a lovely Easter weekend.

~~*~~

Have a Holly Jolly Weekend ~

gouache practice on Fabriano

Home Sweet Homes

Earlier this year I was commissioned to render 8 house portraits for a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary as a gift from their children. Working as an executive for GM, the couple moved quite a bit over the last 50 years.

From the townhome where they began their lives together and the first home for their three children,

to the home where they retired,



...and all the beautiful homes in between,

they have shared an amazing life together.

I hope each time they look at this painting it will bring back wonderful memories of the times they have shared together, and those with family and friends, over last 50 years ... and many more to come.

This was my first attempt at ever painting a house and coordinating eight on one page was quite challenging, but I was happy with the overall results.

Sketching at The Bloom Room

It appears I have way too many photos and designs on my computer and it has finally crashed! I cannot get to the wedding photos I was going to post, so here are a few sketches I did at my friend Stacey’s shop, The Bloom Room, last week. Since I can't scan or adjust them, please excuse the quality of the photos – yes that is my excuse for them. :) and no, the Wizard of Oz is not behind the curtain! ... I just didn't get around to finishing the details while I was there.

Stacey and I used to share the same shop until she needed a larger work room and more storage space. Not only do I miss her company, but I miss the beautiful flowers! Stacey is a fabulous event and floral designer, with a great vintage style, and does shabby chic like no one I know. I decided to go over and see what they were working on for the week and practice sketching interiors...in which I need a lot more practice, but I am enjoying it. It was a fun day!

Workshop with Joe Miller

A painting by Joe Miller from our workshop that he gave to me as a gift!. I was so excited!!

It is going to be perfect in my sunroom.

At the first of September, my mother and I had the privilege of taking a workshop with Joe Miller, fabulous artist, teacher and founder/owner of one of the country's largest mail-order art supply companies, Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff. We were the first students to ever take private classes in his studio in Boone, NC. I felt so lucky just to be there. Joe is one of the kindest, most generous teachers I have ever had. He is so encouraging and positive and has the most wonderful personality and sense of humor. It was such a pleasure to spend three lovely days in his gorgeous studio overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. I will tell you more about Joe, or "Cheap Joe" as he is known, in a Featured Artist Friday post coming soon.



I told Joe I wanted to loosen up, get bolder and braver with watercolor. I tend to paint very light and I'm afraid to really put down color. With Joe’s help, he pushed me to go darker, spatter, spray,

get messy

Yicks! have never been this messy - but it was fun and I loved the results!

Joe's Paletteand just have fun mixing the color on the paper, as well as the palette, learning all sorts of new and exciting techniques.

He told us we really needed to work on value and do these little studies before we start painting. Obviously, I need some help in that area!



Joe's notes to me We really had fun taking the gestural approach to quick little figures. I think Joe thought we might have been a bit carried away with them as we were adding them to everything we did.

Joe's Little People

It was the most spectacular three days. I was sad to see it end. I hope to go back really soon.

Now that my wedding season is slowing down for the year, I hope to start working on all that we learned!

Speaking of weddings ... I have several amazing weddings to share with you over the next few weeks.