Fashion Illustration Night!
One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been accessing virtual events that I normally would miss out on because I am far away and in a tricky time zone for New York events. I used to attend the Society of Illustrators sketching events and am so happy that I’ve been able to join here and there via Zoom.
Today was Fashion Sketch night and luckily it was a Friday morning for me. Usually Friday mornings I am teaching painting, but it’s the term break so my schedule was more open. This one was hosted by Ted Michalowski featuring Cabaret Couture. The model, Janet, was unbelievable and wearing the most fun dresses to draw that I could ever imagine.
More about Fashion Sketch night and other Society of Illustrators events: https://societyillustrators.org/events/
Here are some of my two-minute sketches while working on my Cintiq monitor in Photoshop:
I then really wanted to figure out how to add the color quickly. Here are some 5-10 minute poses. She did this amazing makeup with white eyeliner and disappearing eyebrows, so that was a fun challenge!
Then she changed outfits to another UNBELIEVABLE dress. We had some more time with 15-minute poses and I think I finally figured out what colors were working better digitally. I wish I had more time with the second one. What a dress!!!
I also remembered to screen capture some of my drawing process which I sped up into a 5 minute video. Check it out to see how it all works!
That’s all! I hope to be able to attend more of these going forward.
Art & Fashion Event Recap
First Art & Fashion event was a success!
In the Founder’s Room of the Salamanca Arts Centre, we had an absolute ball - sipping wine, nibbling cheese and drawing and painting the lovely models. Everyone warmed up with 2 and 5 minute poses, and then moved on to 10s and a 20. It was amazing to see everyone’s work, including those who weren’t used to drawing in that way before. There was a common thread amongst all of the participants - letting go and loosening up towards the 10 and 20 min pose. Everyone seemed to accept that there wasn’t one right or wrong way to do it and that the point was to have fun and try something new.
Participants frocked up and ready to create!
One of the unique parts of this event was that everyone could see what I was doing live on the screen. I drew and painted under a live camera feed and offered some tips for anyone who needed a little push.
The night also ended with prizes and a silly photoshoot on the chaise lounge.
Art & Fashion
As some people may know, I originally studied Fashion Illustration in college. If we go further back, I also wanted to be a shoe designer when I was a kid and I declared I would go to fashion school in New York from age 8. While I didn’t become a shoe designer, I did study figure drawing for fashion which has influenced my stylizing and technique. At the time Fashion Illustration/Lifestyle Illustration wasn’t being used as often and photography was more of the trend. A decade later I am seeing SO MUCH fashion and lifestyle illustration being bought again and I love it!
During quarantine I was able to join the Society of Illustrators fashion drawing evening and it reminded me of how much I used to love this. So I decided to run an event here in Hobart with the gallery/school I work for - Nolan Art Gallery & School of Art. Pairing up with Tasmanian fashion brand, Keshet Design, is the icing on the cake!
The fabulous models, Stefi and Marlin.
The Magnolia dress is one of Keshet’s most popular designs - suitable for ALL shapes and sizes, one of their core ethics.
Hope to see you there next week if you are local!
Tickets at www.nolanart.com.au/events
Fabrics & Fashion - Print Design for Keshet
As many of you know, I was the Art Director at Keshet Design for several years. In addition to working on many of the print designs in house, I also designed a few from scratch. The Keshet target audience loves BRIGHT colourful clothing and is not afraid to mix and match. Since it is a proudly Tasmanian company, we choose the dragonfly that I drew in Cradle Mountain to be the main feature for this cotton print. It was available in SO many fabulous outfits!
Images via Keshet’s Instagram | Photos by Amy Brown
Last Winter Season I designed another print which was inspired by Frida Kahlo!
Photo by Matt Palmer
Photo by Matt Palmer
Society of Illustrators - Sketch Night with Izak Zenou and Bill Donovan
Recently I went to the Society of Illustrators for their fashion sketch night. I never get a chance to draw from models in this way, so I was so excited to participate. Not to mention Izak and Bill Donovan are fashion illustration icons.
Fashion Sketch night