goldmine

i don't know if it's just me, and i don't mean to give a way a secret girl-gem, but i am addicted to magazines. i just bought the most recent issue of Jalouse...

its a french fashion mag... and i don't know a lick of french. the clothes and the photos are really what get me... and another secret i probably shouldn't tell (but lets be real, the only one that really reads this is my mom, Hi Mama)... I use a lot of fashion spreads as reference for my sketches. I just like to use certain faces as a general idea. But I've started to get nervous lately because I think there is something really important about creating your own reference. Using someone elses image is fine, as long as it morphs into something else completely.
I never really TRY to make anything look photorealistic, obviously... every person i draw sort of looks like they are missing a gene or something. For a while I held off the magazine binge because i realized that most of the models looked vapid and exuded no personality. I figured I'd find a new inspiration, and that's when I found my parents old stack of yearbooks... or GOLDMINE, rather... There is something authentically unique and more personal for me looking through those than a $9 magazine. My next step to get off the magazines is to buy a library card. we could all benefit from this...
I am currently reading a great Dave Eggers book called You Shall Know Our Velocity

Ok, here is so not so new but most recent sketchbook stuff...


My friend Lisa asked me to do an illustration for her boyfriend for the holidays, he lives aross the globe, so soon I'll be international. One step at a time...
Also, I started a little series of these 3x5 watercolor postcards... I fell into a zen like place with the brush... More to come...