I've been delving a bit into fashion, lately. Not high fashion couture or anything, but just stylishness in general- particularly "cute" styles since one can only work with what one has (and at 5'3", I will never be supermodel tall, thin and sexy ;P). So here was an attempt from this week- got some good reactions to it in real life.

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I've always really liked band posters. Not so much the "official" types with photos of the band, but the types used for individual shows. They rarely have anything to do with the show/band/etc, but the designs are always awesome. I like creating posters anyway, but band gig poster is definitely on my list of career goals (along with book illustrator, etc.). So imagine my joy when I came across this site filled with various band gig posters. There's some really cool stuff there... a small selection...

Been trying to think of something slightly original to rename this blog. Someone said something to me like "you're just looking for shangrila" a few years ago in response to my dreaminess... thus this name. :)

shangrila- (noun)

1. An imaginary remote paradise on earth; utopia.

2. A distant and secluded hideaway, usually of great beauty and peacefulness.

Just a glimpse at my artistic process. I always sketch and ink by hand- I have more control that way, honestly- I've never felt particularly comfortable sketching/inking digitally. The final step is to clean up the inking and color it in Photoshop. :)

A preliminary sketch I've had sitting around for a few months based on a dream I had way back in 2007! Why yes, I do have exceptionally vivid dreams... especially when it's those odd ones that feel real.

I haven't decided yet if I'm gonna finish it or not...

Saw Paramore live last week at JPJ arena. And it was amazing. We had floor tickets, so we got to be (almost) up close and personal, standing in the crowd. Which, to be honest, is my favorite way to experience concerts- there's so much great energy and it's just a lot of fun to dance and sing with a bunch of people who enjoy the same music you do. ♥

Aside from totally exceeding my expectations as a live band, they seem like genuinely sweet people who really enjoy making music and the fans- and I love to see that. 

Here's a few pics a friend of mine took at the show:

My first tiny paycheck from my second job came in last Friday. What's the first thing I buy for myself? New art supplies! ♥ I needed a new sketchbook and some colored ink pens. Art supplies count as necessities when you're an artist, right? ;)

And as for Camera lust... I think I've found the solution to my photography woes. I'm not gonna get a high quality compact cam for under approx. $400... for that money I might as well buy a DSLR, though entry level versions run upwards from $450... not to mention buying lenses, etc.

All I really want is a camera that let's me manually change settings (ike a DSLR) with high quality, professional quality output. What I found? Hybrid Cameras. Specifically? Panasonic Lumix FZ35. It's amazing and a decent price (depending on what site you check out.) I could probably save up for one within a few paychecks now that I've got this second job and this silly Nikon can be used when I just want to take random snapshots.

Life's been pretty busy lately, so forgive the lack of updates.

I did receive this lovely notepad as a gift though! Love the color and the cameo-ish feel to it. I've always loved silhouettes/cameos and old fashioned motifs. I think the person who gave it to me said they found it at Barnes and Noble, so happy notepad hunting!

Some of this stuff is on my portfolio site, too... others haven't seen the light of day since 2004. I'd rather they go to a good home than sit in storage. I'm planning to sell these either through ebay or etsy (haven't decided yet) and will be offering a free sketch of the buyer's choice with each purchase. :)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LISTING

 Trying to sell some of my original pieces. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please take a look at my ebay listing? Thanks so much! (If you'd rather just look at the posted picture, that's fine too.)

Details: Watercolor on Arches Cold Press paper; Created 2007

One of my biggest artistic challenges is that I have so many ideas and start a lot of projects... to the point that half of the projects get put on hold for new ideas. One of my New Years Resolutions is to finish projects before starting a new one. Anyway, this painting is based on a photo taken at Maymont Park in Richmond, VA last summer. I know I wish it was summer right now! (Too bad we don't all live in somewhere like Australia at the moment, hmm?)

Preliminary sketchwork for a 5x7 watercolor piece. I haven't quite decided on her clothing yet and her "crown" needs some work. (Please ignore the strange hand- once the shading is in it will look correct, I promise.) I'm pretty excited to be working on this, actually, because I've got a fair idea of how exactly I'm going to work this one. :)

Work in progress. Originally an embossing with touches of watercolor, I'm reworking it in gouache. It's maybe 50% done at the moment. I'll post a full set of progress pictures when it's finished.

Please excuse the fuzzy photo. Bad quality.

A Short Introduction:

Another decade-old album, but this time by a band that's continued to be a personal favorite for quite a few years.

The Art of CDs 3:

Artist: Muse

Album: Showbiz

Released: 1999

Acquired: 2004

Reason for buying: I stumbled upon "Time is Running Out" on the internet (back in the days before youtube, mind you) and found a bunch of tracks from their Absolution album. After a couple listens I decided it was worth purchasing. Much to my dismay, I couldn't find the album anywhere. No one had heard of it or the band. Then I found Showbiz entirely by accident shoved in the back of a shelf at a Sam Goody. I had no clue they had more than one album and I quite liked the cover art, so I picked it up.

Top 5 Tracks (in no particular order): Showbiz (#7), Escape (#10), Sunburn (#1), Cave (#6), Muscle Museum (#2)

Packaging:
Aside from the slight fuzziness of the cover art and the lack of lyrics in the booklet, this is honestly one of my favorite cd package designs ever. I just love the way the motif is carried throughout the book and case. And okay, yes, I like the sci-fi gimmick... it's fun...

Click "read more" to see images, etc...

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Had work today so not much time to draw, but I did manage to whip up this quick sketch inspired by the Minoan Snake Goddess statue from Crete....

Medium: Ink
Time: maybe 10 minutes... hence the extreme sketchiness ^^;

Medium: Pencil on Computer Paper
Type: Sketch
Time: approx. 45 minutes

A Short Introduction:

Well, it's not the album I mentioned wanting to talk about last time, but this will do for now. I discovered this one while organizing and, while I'm not sure I'd call the design amazing... I still think the idea is fun and a bit retro styled.

The Art of CDs 2:

Artist: Saves the Day

Album: Through Being Cool

Released: 1999

Acquired: late 2002? maybe early 2003?

Reason for buying: A friend of mine highly recommended them and emailed me a few songs to listen to.

Top 5 Tracks (in no particular order): Third Engine (#6), Vast Spoils of America (#8), Banned from the Back Porch (#12), Last Lie I Told (#9), Rocks Tonic Juice Magic (#4)

Packaging:
Like I said, I'm not sure I'd call it a favorite, but the gimmick itself is fun and I still like the idea and retro feel of it. The way the text is laid out with the colored boxes makes me think of something from the 50s. I do love the way the photography tells a whole story, though. (Sorry I couldn't get shots of each page!)

Images:

^The Cover.

^Back Cover and Track Listing.

^The full package. CD art relates to the "story" inside the booklet.

^Inside the booklet. First and last spread.

Overall Opinion: I adored this cd when I bought it. These days? Well, I still like a lot of the songs for nostalgic value, but for the most part... well... let's just say that after a while Chris Conley's voice starts to get on one's nerves. I do wonder if Saves the Day even exists anymore, though... Hmm...

What's Next in Part 3? It'll be coming soon now that I organized my cd collection...

For the past 5 years or so, I've (not-so-diligently) written down some of my dreams. Either for the simple fact that they were interesting, or really bizarre, or really vivid, or whatever. I was going through a journal of these and thought that, maybe, these very visual dreams could be turned into artwork.

So, for one of these, I'm looking for reference pictures of carnations. (It was a fairly important "plot point" of sorts.) These pretty pictures were found via Flickr.

Received this as a belated Christmas (New Years?) gift today. A little solid perfume from Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers line. Now, I'm not much of a perfume person (certain perfumes have a tendency to trigger sneezing and/or headaches), but I actually really love the scent on this ("Baby") since it's very light. But the scent isn't what got me... it was the packaging. I'm such a sucker for cute or interesting packaging, it's not even funny.

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I had thought to bring in the New Year with a nice, new, customized template. Alas, the blogger coding has gotten the better of me.

I should have a new layout up by tomorrow or Saturday. Until then, please excuse the generic blogger layout. :\