Sweet August

What is it about August?
The fact that it's the last "unofficial"
month of summer makes it a little bittersweet ...

autumn decorations begin to shoulder themselves into the stores,
ads begin to appear for "back to school" supplies ...
and it makes summer lovers like me want to slip our sunnies on,
cover our ears and shout
"na na na na na na na" ...

... not that I don't LOVE autumn, I do ...
so very much, in fact, that it's my second favorite season ...
I adore autumn leaves, apple cider, crisp air, warm clothes ...
but I just like to keep all things in their time
so that we can truly enjoy and soak in the season that's still here ...

And I've been doing just that!
You all know that I've taken a little time off
from the blog for the summer, just popping in now and again to say hello ...
hope you've all been having a sparkling one, too!


In addition to purely enjoying the summer sunshine and beaches,
taking little trips here and there,
enjoying fresh vegetables from farm stands,
savoring summer barbecues and dining al fresco
and ending sultry days with cooler evening walks ...
I spend a good portion of most days, of course, in the studio.
Many of the things I have been working on I'm not able to share yet,
as they haven't yet been released and introduced by my clients,
but I've been very busy, as usual.

I shared the following custom fashion illustration
on facebook and instagram recently
(so please forgive for the repeat to those that have already seen it)

The illustration was commissioned by Aliana of Aliana Events
as a gift for a bride-to-be that loves Dior
to be presented at a stunning Dior-themed bridal shower.
The following photo of the bride-to-be with the illustration
alongside the beautiful Dior cake of the shower

is courtesy of Aliana Events.

I also mentioned on social media recently that the first
SANDY M Illustrated Calendar
will be available for 2014 and will be introduced later this fall!
The following "teaser," of a portion of the calendar cover illustration
{but covering up the townhouse door area to keep it a surprise}
is all that has been shown so far ...
notice the address of this chic city townhouse as the introduction ...
Stay tuned for more ...

Along with all of the details for the calendar,
one of the illustrations I'm currently working on for a client
takes me away to a chateau in France ... I just love how I'm able to
"travel" while I'm working! ;)

Have a sweet remainder of August, everyone!
I'll be leaving the end of next week for a week-long
road trip with my dad ... yep, a father and daughter trip ...
 going back and visiting his roots ;) ...

it'll be fun!

Till later ...

OOH LA FROU FROU

is the blog of illustrator

SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries

drop Sandy a line here.

Image Credits:
First three images sourced from Pinterest as follows:
Image 1 girl in sunglasses via
Image 2 girl on carousel via

Image 3 sea at night via

Custom Dior Fashion Illustration by SANDY M

Photo of Bride with SANDY M Fashion Illustration via Aliana Events

"Sneak Peek" partial view 2014 calendar illustration by SANDY M

COMMISSIONED {plus a little weekend fun!}

Aren't you so happy that it's May?
I hope you had a great weekend!
Mine included an ice cream sundae,
and two alfresco dinners in the sunshine,
some lake-gazing in the backyard,
and even {just because it was magical} ...
a carnival ride!
Sometimes it's good to be a kid again ...
here are a few snaps from the impulsive stop by the roadside carnival.
The tall ferris wheel was the ride that we bought tickets for ...

Who says sparkle is only for fashion?


Snapped while waiting in line ...

... and then while on it ...

Can you almost smell the cotton candy?
It was a perfect first weekend of May!

~ And Now ~
 moving on to two new illustration additions to the
COMMISSIONED
series of posts!

~ Illustration One ~
The first illustration I'd like to introduce you to is one that I was 

commissioned to create for a fabulous skincare spa
located in Canada called:


The illustration I created is to be used on a variety of things,
including Bella Clinique's bags.
If you follow me on Instagram,
you probably saw the following photo that I shared
of the beginning stages of painting the illustration ...

And here's another peek of the illustration-in-progress
with the background further along ...

The star of this BELLA CLINIQUE illustration
is the new logo girl that I was asked to design for them
and she is named ... Bella!
She is modeled after the lovely owner,
Jennifer Brodeur (@jenniferbrodeur on Twitter)


As is my standard practice with my lovely clients,
e-mails flew back and forth between Jennifer and I ...
it's all part of my preliminary process
in order to capture as many little details as I can ...
things that make the illustration very personal.

Some of the details that Jennifer mentioned she'd like to see
on Bella were:
long ombre hair, like hers;
a sleek black dress, as she wears black most often;
 a specific Tiffany bracelet on her wrist;
a Bella Blue scarf that was a gift from a friend;
her Louis Vuitton Galleria handbag;
spa shopping bags;
her lovely dog Sisu;
and two magazines tucked into the handbag (Vogue and Clin d'oeil)
that Bella Clinique has appeared in.
Also, I decided to illustrate a row three crystal pendant lights in the window
after seeing the actual light fixtures photographed inside the spa.
And, here's the finished illustration ...

You can catch the illustration
on the Bella Clinique Facebook page right now!
Thank you, Jennifer!
A pleasure to work with you.
~

.~ Illustration Two ~
I'd like to introduce you to a second illustration this week.
This is an illustration that was recently commissioned
by the
MICHEL GERMAIN
perfume line
for their Mother's Day campaign.
(You can read about Michel Germain's beautiful perfume line
called "Sexual" and how it came to be here.)

This is my second illustration for the Micahel Germain perfume line.
{See the holiday illustration created for them in a previous post (here).}
That first holiday illustration for them was featured
on their website for the holidays
 and on holiday gift boxes in stores
(Bloomingdales and Macy's).}

The new Mother's Day illustration shows a
luxurious boudoir in a luxe Paris apartment,
where the SP logo girl that I designed for them
(and that appeared in the first illustration)
appears again (on the right) ... and this time, she is with her mother
as they are preparing to head out to a Mother's Day brunch ...
and, of course, they're spritzing on only ONE perfume
as a finishing touch before they leave!
I think you'd love the fragrance "Sexual Sugar" ...
I was sent one of the beautiful pink bottles
and everyone asks me what I'm wearing!




You can catch this illustration right now
on the Michel Germain website here!

It's always a delight working with fabulous clients like
Michel and Norma Germain.

Thanks for joining me this week, everyone!

These are just a taste of what's been on my
illustration calendar lately ...
hope you all have a wonderful week!
See you next Monday!

OOH LA FROU FROU

is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

The carnival photos above are property of Ooh La Frou Frou.
The photo of Jennifer Brodeur via Bella Clinique.
Bella Clinique illustration and Michel Germain illustration
by illustrator SANDY M, (c) 2013 SANDY M ~ all rights reserved.

For custom illustration inquiries,
drop a note to Sandy here.

COMMISSIONED

ONE STYLE AT A TIME

Happy Monday, loves!
For this post in the
COMMISSIONED
series, I thought I'd share with you
a recent custom fashion illustration commission
created for Maria of the superb fashion blog:
One Style At A Time.
If you're a fan of fashion and not yet familiar with Maria,
I know you'll love One Style At A Time.
Maria is very fashion savvy,
so it's  perfect that she lives
in the fashion capital of the world,
New York City.

The new illustration made it's debut
on One Style At A Time this last weekend
when the blog celebrated it's
oh-so-fashionable two-year anniversary ...
congratulations, Maria!

THE ILLUSTRATION
When Maria contacted me for a commission,
we discussed a variety of options and poses
for her fashion illustration that she wished to use as
her new blog header and avi.
With a "sitting at her desk" pose selected,
we quickly moved on to the other details that
she wished to see in her illustration.
This is always such a fun part when clients
choose what they'd like to see created ...
sort of like shopping!
I asked Maria to send me photos of herself,
as well as a list of the items she would like included
 (and photos of those items if she had them),
and also what she would like to be wearing in the illustration.
Some of the items Maria chose were:
a glam mirrored desk, pink peonies,
a classic black Chanel 2.55 handbag,
a Hermes Birkin bag at her feet,
fashion books on her desk
and a french chandelier.

Once I received all the info,
it was time for sketching to begin ...
and once a first rough sketch was completed,
it was e-mailed to Maria for approval.
I've grouped together some of the images
of the fashion illustration of Maria
from first sketch of her face (upper left)
and complete rough pencil sketch (just below it)
to steps along the way after painting had begun ...


When I had completed the Birkin bag and its contents,
 I e-mailed Maria and included a little tease as an attachment.
It was a sneak-peek of the Birkin bag
I was placing at her feet in the illustration.
Her bag was filled with the March 2013 issue of Vogue
(the month and year of her two year blog anniversary).
You may be able to just make out a little of the face
of Beyonce on the cover of the issue ...

I also added a chic silk scarf peeking out
over the side of the bag ...
here's the attachment Maria received ....

Ahhhh, Birkin ...
so much fun ...
I'm such a tease, I know.

For an illustration such as this one,
I often paint with layers of gouache and acrylics.
It's essentially a painting as I would do on canvas,
but for an illustration, the painting is created on illustration board
so that it can be scanned when complete
and placed in electronic file format to be e-mailed
to the client.

Soooooo ...
when the illustration was complete,
it was e-mailed to Maria ...

And below is the illustration
as it appears on Maria's header ...
she found the perfect font to embellish it!

Here's the link to
One Style At A Time
so you can see it in person ...
thanks, Maria, it was so much fun!
Now ...
what are we going to create for your
three-year anniversary, I wonder? lol

Have a wonderful week, everyone!
Thanks so much for joining me!
See you Wednesday!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

To custom illustration inquiries,
drop Sandy a note here.

Issue photo:
Vogue Magazine

COMMISSIONED

MICHEL GERMAIN
PERFUMES

Hi everyone!
I thought I'd end this busy week with a post in the
COMMISSIONED

series and share with you another of my
custom illustration commissions.

I'm lucky to work with some
fabulous clients.
One of those clients is
MICHEL GERMAIN
Séxual Parfums.
(pronounced SexuALL).
If you follow me on Instagram,
you've seen a photo of the following illustration,
and now you can see how it developed!

When Designer Michel Germain
met and married his beautiful wife, Norma,
he searched for years to find a fragrance
she truly enjoyed.
She told him she would only wear a fragrance
that made her feel beautiful and sexy.
Inspired by her wish,
he was determined to capture her feelings.
He created Sexual.

The line includes fragrances for women and men
and can be found at Bloomindales and Macy's.
I was sent a bottle of the Sexual Sugar fragrance
and I love it ... people always ask me what I'm wearing!
The men's frangrance Sexual Pour Homme
has been the top fragrance at Bloomingdales four years running.

My first illustration for
the fragrance line was for their 2012 Christmas campaign.
I was asked to create a Sexual Parfum girl for them
and for this particular illustration, she would be standing in front of
a beautiful Sexual Parfumerie, doing some holiday
perfume shopping.

For this type of illustration,
I usually work with gouache and acrylics.
As I usually do, I've included a few I-phone snaps
of the work along the way.
After the sketch was drawn and approved by the client,
the illustration work began ...
I just love putting golden light into the windows in my illustrations!
I designed a chic french awning over an arched window
that the logo girl would be standing in front of
and the dog was based upon photos of the real dog
of Norma and Michel Germain ...


The limestone facade was created and adorned with greenery,
a chandelier and lanterns were added,
snow was placed along the sidewalk
and the Sexual Perfume girl's pink sparkly dress
and pink coat were created ... 

Shopping bags are now hanging on her arm,
her long suede gloves and boots appear,
and the charming dog makes his appearance ... 

Items are added to the store window shelves
and a bottle of Sexual Sugar perfume
was added to her hand ... 

And voila!  The finished illustration! 

This was the way the illustration appeared on the
Michel Germain website during the holidays ... 

And a snap was sent to me of the
illustration as it appeared in the stores ... so exciting!


And so much fun!
I just completed a second illustration
for the fragrance line to appear in stores this spring
and am now working on a third.

Thank you Michel Germain!

By the way,
I love the "Flirt App" they have on the website.
where you can click on the parfum bottle spray
 for sexy flirt tips!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
See you Monday!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator

SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries,
contact Sandy here.

COMMISSIONED

COMMISSIONED
Nicole Ritchie Interiors

Hi everybody!
Today I thought I'd show you the process of
another custom illustration that was
 completed not long ago.

This one was for a delightful client,
interior designer Nicole Ritchie.
It was to be an illustration of Nicole in front
of an interior design store with windows
that were filled to the brim with some of her
favorite pieces of furniture and accessories!
She wanted to frame it in her office and

use for future business purposes.

She had the wonderful idea of creating a Pinterest board
called "Inspiration for S" in which she placed
a variety of these favorite pieces for me to come refer to
as inspiration for the illustrations ...
it was a great idea and I had fun doing a little
 furniture "shopping" from her samples
in my decisions of which ones to illustrate
in her windows!

I created this illustration with layers of
 gouache and acrylic washes.
Please forgive the quality of these
first three photos ... they're just quick i-phone shots
of the illustration in progress ...

After the pencil sketch was approved,
the painting of the store began ...
some of the architectural details
 that Nicole mentioned that she loved were the
shingles on Hamptons beach houses
and pretty awnings ...
so I created a white canvas awning above the door
with white drapes flanking the tall topiaries
on either side of the door.
I gave the side windows smaller copper awnings ...


... I sketched the pieces of furniture in the windows
and the chandeliers in the first floor windows
and first pieces of furniture were started ...


... Nicole provided me with a Pinterest photo of a lovely
Dorothy Draper curio that was my inspiration for the
first white and green furniture piece painted, below ....


Many washes of paint later,

the illustration was complete!
Nicole is smaller in this illustration with the store,
but she was also given a separate version
of just the illustration of herself, much larger.
Notice that she's carrying wallpaper books
and bolts of fabric ...


Thank you,
 Nicole Ritchie Interiors!

Have a wonderful second half of the week,
everyone!
If you missed Monday's post entitled
"The Beauty Collector"
be sure to get a dose of beauty here!
See you Friday!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.

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)

COMMISSIONED

COMMISSIONED
ATUTUDES

Hi everyone!
As you know, last week was my first week
of going from a weekly post to three days per week
and I'm LOVING connecting with you
several times a week now ...
thanks for all of the sweet comments!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that
COMMISSIONED
would be the title of one of the new series of occasional posts
 I will be doing ... and this is the first one in that series.

 
The idea behind

COMMISSIONED
is to introduce you to some of the commissioned illustrations
I've been working on and introduce you to the clients
 that I created them for!
Today's illustration was created for
the lovely Kristal of Atutudes.
If you're not familiar with what she does,
the name of her company will give you a clue!
She makes adorable tutus
for very adorable little girls
and celebs make it onto her list of clients.

You may have seen a photo of a
certain little mini-Audrey dressed in the Atutudes
 Breakfast at Tiffany's Tutu Dress
on Pinterest or maybe on Jessica Alba's Facebook Page
or perhaps on Lauren Conrad's Friday Favorites!

ILLUSTRATION PROGRESS
IN ACTION

When a client orders a custom illustration from me,
I always begin by creating a rough sketch for approval
before the actual illustration is painted ...
and this was the sketch for Atutudes ...

... after approval, the sketch is transferred to fresh paper and I'm ready to paint.
After the first layers and shades of the little girl's pale skin tones are painted in,
I begin the layers of watercolor for the tulle ...

If you follow me on Instagram,
you may have seen this photo that I took of
the tutu watercolor layers in progress ...

Lots of layers of watercolor make up the pretty
Breakfast at Tiffanys tutu dress illustration,
just as there are lots of layers in the actual dress ...
and voila!
This is the finished illustration!

What a fun illustration to do!
Now you know who to go to if you know of a little sweetie
that feels like she wants to be Audrey Hepburn
for her birthday party!

Thank you, Atutudes!

See you Friday, everyone,
for another INSPIRED post ...
hmmmmm ...
wonder what will be inspiring me this time?



OOH LA FROU FROU

is the blog of Illustrator

SANDY M

For a custom illustration,

drop Sandy a line here.