ooh la frou frou: 1/27/13

Friday, February 1, 2013

INSPIRED

INSPIRED
A DATE WITH YOURSELF

Hi everyone ...
I don't know about you,
but I'm certainly ready for a weekend!
I've been working on a huge illustration project
with a rush deadline and right now I feel as if
an in-house masseuse
might be something to consider adding to my studio! Ha!

When I've been spending a lot of time in the studio,
it doesn't take long before I need to head out
to gather inspiration and renewed energy.
One of the best ways to do this for me is
to take a day by myself and head out
for a day of shopping, relaxing and thinking
or leafing through a magazine over a cappuccino and
enjoying lunch while watching and listening
to the people around me.
Window displays, store vignettes,
the smell from a bakery I pass,
the architecture of beautiful stores,
shoppers carrying bags and boxes,
bits of laughter and conversations I hear in passing,
even the music in the background
fill me with inspiration and at the end of a day like this
I return home with ideas bubbling to the surface.

Days like this aren't about shopping to buy so much,
but about the stimulation I crave to create.

When you're feeling you need a day of
relaxation and inspiration, where do you head to?
Do you find a day spending some time by yourself
and window shopping inspiring?

Look closely, this photo is not upside down: ;)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

I'm enjoying three days a week now ...

hope you are too!

If you missed the "Party Girl" post on Monday,

check out the Bar Cart Soiree notes available on the post!

OOH LA FROU FROU

is the blog of illustrator

SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries

contact Sandy here.

The illustration of the

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" window is by

SANDY M

The photos above can all be found on my

Pretty Things, Black and White and Shopping

Pinterest boards.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

ILLUSTRATION STYLE and COMMISSIONED

~ PART ONE ~
ILLUSTRATION STYLE
WATERCOLOR/GOUACHE WITH PEN AND INK BACKGROUND

Happy Wednesday!
I'm combining two of the new series' of posts today ...
ILLUSTRATION STYLE and COMMISSIONED.
In ILLUSTRATION STYLE posts,
I show you samples of one of my styles of illustration.
Since the commissioned illustration I'm featuring today
is in this illustration style, you get a little of each series!

The illustration style of
WATERCOLOR/GOUACHE WITH PEN AND INK BACKGROUND
is a style of mine that I love to do ...
It's the style where I paint a portion of the illustration in watercolor
and create the background in crisp black and white.
This brings attention to the featured character(s)
of an illustration, such as the party girls below, in my
"PARIS PARTY" illustration.

This style is one of my favorite styles.
Following is another of my illustrations in this style that
you've probably seen, called "PARIS DREAMS."

These are but two of my illustrations in this style ...
you'll be seeing many more in the future!

~ Part Two ~
COMMISSIONED
POSH FROSTING

If you are not familiar with
POSH FROSTING,
they make gorgeousl Swarovski and Diamonte
encrusted rain boots and luxury accessories.
This story begins when one day they contacted me
to create two custom illustrations for them.
The first illustration:
a pair of their embellished rain boots standing alone
and another version of this illustration with the boots "walking"
across their Facebook page header.
Although the boot illustration is NOT in the
watercolor and pen and ink style of this post,
{it was created using acrylic and gouache},
it is part of the POSH FROSTING commission.

My acrylic/gouache boot illustrations for POSH FROSTING

The second illustration I created for them IS in the
WATERCOLOR/GOUACHE and PEN AND INK style
{But it is NOT the girl's face below!).
POSH FROSTING wanted me to use their logo girl's face
{that they already had on their Facebook page} as
inspiration to bring her to life ...
so, here is their existing logo that I used as my inspiration:

Posh Frosting's Logo Girl That I Was to "Bring to Life"

I needed to use that logo face as inspiration and create her as a full-size girl,
breathing life into her by illustrating her walking down a city street in the rain,
holding an umbrella and wearing POSH FROSTING rain boots.
The background was created in pen and ink.

My WATERCOLOR/GOUACHE Illustration for POSH FROSTING

Posh Frosting rain boots are available on Etsy.
Thank you, POSH FROSTING!

So, in closing, I ask you ...
what if our real life days were in this style of illustration,
where our backgrounds were in black and white,
shining the spotlight on us?
I bet we'd really concentrating on the color of our outfits! haha

Have a great mid-week, everyone!
If you missed Monday's "Party Girl" post,
illustrated "Bar Cart Soiree" notes
are available for purchase on the post while they last!
See you Friday!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.

Illustrations in this post
are the work of
SANDY M
(with the exception of Posh Frosting logo in circle)