July 2019, series intro...and an ART EVENT!

Would anyone be surprised if I did MORE fashion illustrations as my monthly theme? 
​Probably not...and yup- I totally am!  

If you have followed my work then you know that I REALLY love fashion.  Like, it's my jam.  This summer I had a chance to actually attend a REAL class in fashion, which was super eye-opening for me as everything I knew (which translates to everything I did NOT know!) was from books, tutorials and just sitting for hours and hours sketching from my favorite fashion magazines.  

I had not planned on doing ANOTHER fashion-themed series...but here we are.  
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Just for fun, here are some links to my previous FASHION-inspired pieces so you can see what I have done in the past;

January 2019/ December 2018/June 2018/May 2018/January 2018/December 2017/November 2017/June 2017/December 2016/September 2016/October 2015/January 2015/Msc 2013 Fashion Illustrations/November 2012/October 2012 msc/September 2012...first time sketching fashion!

Examples of previous 'fashion' work...most represent whole a whole month/theme of work

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To prep/hype myself up for my SCAD workshop I decided to sketch some of the winning designs and/or my favorite designs from the Season 17 challenges.  I think this is the first time that I sat and did this all at once (over a couple of days, of course) rather than as each episode aired.

I posted these in my Instagram story and tagged the appropriate designers and models- and I will actually be mailing these off to some of them!  Kinda cool, huh?  

As I mentioned in my post about my experience at SCAD, I went in confident...second guessed myself a bajillion times and finally left feeling excited, and ready to learn even more.  I forgot how much I enjoyed figure drawing and what great practice it is, and bonus for adding the 'fashion' element to the work!  One thing that I learned from Lara that I really loved was using the large blocks of solid color to emphasize the figure. She had this GIGANTIC Sharpie paint pen that was so fab I ran to the book store on campus and bought one for myself!    

Scenes from the Fashion Illustration Workshop with Lara Wolf.

My piece for the closing show...and my inspiration for the July series.

​My time at SCAD solidified my decision to come back and do another fashion themed month, and to try and figure out how to use what I learned to inform my own style. ​ When I first started, I was looking to my jewelry as a starting point- starting with some earrings I packed to go with a red dress.  This is how I created my pieces for my 'Miss Matchy Matchy' months, and  I think it is a good way to start...but not sure if I am going to stay within that limit.

When I was working with Lara we were using Prismacolor Marker, which I have used before...but not the right way I guess.  I had so much trouble handling the markers and getting smooth, flat coverage.  I brought those markers with my on our recent trip...but when I got back I went back into the pieces with watercolor and pens...then also gouache because I wanted more coverage.

I haven't gotten into my 'sweet spot' yet in the pieces...that groove where the pieces start to flow and the work feels cohesive...but here is what I have photographed so far;

And  I guess I should also mention- I have a show of my fashion pieces coming up, yay!  I will be showing a selection of my fashion illustrations at Harold's Coffee in Northwood for the month of August.  My opening reception is tentatively planned for Friday, 2nd, waiting to confirm the time, but if you are local go ahead and save that date!