Cokie's Mirror

Quick character piece, still working on her palette, playing around, wishing "muffs" would come back in fashion. SIGH. Back to the books!

If you're interested, Cokie's soundtrack: "Lost Language" by Monade, "Clarion Union Hall" by The High Llamas (this song's love at first listen) ♥

Artifaktori

Oh, hello! I am here on a rainy night in my very small apartment with my very small cat, hoping you are cozy somewhere too. I am a little sad I can't share any new art with you just yet, most of it is secret still.


So here are photographs of two inspiring finds from the local vintage shop called Artifaktori in Davis Square. A pair of navy leather 1971 kitten-heeled Naturalizer pumps which almost fit perfectly with band-aids, and a nameless, ownerless, very magical looking suitcase that takes me on a trip with it every time I glance at it. It just about yelled at me to bring it home from its position on the sidewalk as I passed it leaving the dentist's office. Old things just make me wonder of them, "WHERE have you been, and WHAT have you seen?"


And of course little Serif is in there trying to steal the scene. Kate thinks he is a pharaoh spirit housed in a feline body...I think he is a little goblin, or a dog, since he has now learned "paw" as well as "sit" and "fetch".



Paintings to come. Goodnight!

Imaginary Friends!

...Some character sketches for the imaginary friends starring in my upcoming picture book, DOTTY, by Erica Perl, published by Abrams...more to come soon. I'm working on the child-drawn concept for the book, which required me to mentally tune out any art training, take a seat at the pasty craft table in nursery school, and get back to basics. Drawings done in Prismacolor Lead Stix on cream paper by my inner 4 year old.

Happy rainy little Monday ♥

Crocuses

The first brave flowers to come out of hiding! Matt took this picture on our warm weekend stroll, they were such a fresh and happy sight! It felt like it had been AGES since I'd seen a crocus. Isn't it funny how every time the seasons change, grown-ups and children and animals too all become so excited, as if this really is the very first time winter has ever changed to spring?

"Spring is here again. Spring is the earth's birthday. It comes again and again and again."

-Alice and Martin Provensen, A Book of Seasons, 1976

Little Alphabet

Here is a very little alphabet I painted in between projects, in a slice of time before going to bed. The paintings were barely an inch wide before scanning them! I am very happy with how crabby monsieur chat turned out to be, especially in the letter "A". I also discovered the beautiful lacy voice of Montreal-based "Coeur De Pirate" (Béatrice Martin) around the time I was painting these. Another note: I forgot all about daylight savings time! Spring ahead! I am now an hour behind :P

Busy Bee

Good morning to you! It's been hard to stop back at the blog, I've been b-u-s-y in the studio with final art. I'd love to post some of it soon. Until then, I'll be here drawing and painting and fetching (with Serif! he has learned how to fetch). Hope all's well ♥

Treasure

I was at my old haunt, Rodney's bookstore in Central Square, sneaking around worn wooden bookshelves when I happened upon this little treasure! The Campfire Girls was a series for girls (and boys!) published during the early 1900's. I snapped it up and hugged it and bought it and scanned it (CAREFULLY!) This particular installment, At Work, was written by "Helen Hart" (pen name of Samuel Lowe ?!) and illustrated by the classical Violet Moore Higgins.

Stories starring girls always feel special to me, having enjoyed girls series so much while growing up with sisters, and now having created art for The Sleepover Squad series. (Check out Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy and Tib). Higgins' work is ornate and her girls hint a bit at their flapper underpinnings. It's fascinating to see an antique version of our standard chapter book format with black and white interiors reaching all the way back from 1920 to my hands in 2009. It felt very magical to be at the end of that tradition. Look! The waving hankie and all!

The extra treat in used books is the inscription, library cards, or owners' names written in wobbly crayon. I love that this teacher is awarding Myron for second prize... and look at that penmanship!

One last little beauty accompanied by the caption, "We have to think of a way to make Sonia understand!" Just look at those cheeky bobbed haircuts.♥

ECO 2

Bonjour to you!

Since I've been working up the fashion portfolio in between projects, I thought I'd give you the sneakiest-peek before this one even hit my web portfolio. It's going up this week. Her concept is pretty obvious, but I wanted to approach it with enough whimsy to make it young and fresh. I think that now, more than ever, we are in a time of rapid awakening, especially regarding the consumer's conscience when it comes to environmental and social responsiblity, and fashion will need to follow in this functional and meaningful spirit. With the idea of fashion as lifestyle/character design, I created ECO 2. You can click on her to enlarge. I've got some exciting leads in the client area that I'd LOVE to reveal soon, but all remain hush hush for now....oh boo. Happy Monday! <3

ECO's soundtrack song =The Most Serene Republic's Compliance.

Birdcage Veils & Fearless Brides

The brilliant boudoir and wedding photographer Rachel Hadiashar behind Merge Weddings recently launched her Fearless Bridals project featuring the juxtaposition of her elegant bridal portraiture against daring backdrops. Subjects of her post-wedding day shoots step in to the dress one more time, as they "explore the world in a wedding dress".

I had a blissful time designing the dainty-yet-fearless bride for her header...(Also gave me an excuse to indulge in my secret obsession with birdcage veils)...read more about Rachel's concept behind the project!

Illustration World!

The bloggie's linked in "features" today on IllustrationMundo. Here's a little sketch from the portfolio update.