Sunday, October 28, 2012

Bash

My friend of many years, Barry Wishnow, visited my studio on his recent trip to NYC. It was wonderful to catch up with him over coffee and breakfast while I painted a fast watercolor portrait. Barry is a New York character, full of life and passion about his family, his business, music, fashion and his new life in Nashville. Having had a successful career in the fashion industry as President of Calvin Klein, CEO of Hugo Boss America and working with such talents as Yves Saint Laurent and Halston, Barry has now launched his own company called BASH creating classic bespoke fashion using the finest fabrics and tailoring. This color combination is my flavor of the moment but it also suits flamboyant and dapper BASH!


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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Don't Tell Mama......

Last night I went to see my friend sing at 'Don't Tell Mama', a cabaret and comedy club in midtown Manhattan. I grabbed my sketch book at the last minute and was really glad I brought it with me. What a talented and glamorous group of singers including my friend Linda Mancini, Sian Berman, Jane Deeken, Leorah Haberfield, Magee Hickey, Roberta Klein and Karen Steinberg who are all part of Manhattan Cabaret Arts. I'm now hooked on sketching performers! It's a good excuse for me to go to more gigs around town but I'll have to source venues where there is a bit of light to sketch. In some instances last night the lights went so low I could hardly see my paper. I know my mother would be frowning if she could see me trying to draw in the dark so 'Don't Tell Mama'......




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Monday, July 30, 2012

A Night Out With Bil Donovan

The Society of Illustrators here in NYC again hosted another themed evening for our large group of eager sketchers. Using the models in 'pulp fiction' poses, Christian Dior's 'artist in residence', the multi-talented fashion illustrator Bil Donovan, produced an evening of challenging poses and helpful direction within a lively atmosphere. I had to pinch myself to remind myself that yes, I am here, in NYC and surrounded by all these super talented people. Oh what joy! I quite like this little sketch. I can't remember how long it was but probably 9 minutes or 13 minutes. Bil doesn't like to round up the minutes to the nearest 5 or 10. One of his adorable little quirks!


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Friday, July 13, 2012

Beach Boy....er Babe!

Well this was a fun and interesting challenge. I had to think fast last night at the Society of Illustrators sketch night. Our flamboyant and fabulous male model decided to wear a pink swimsuit and carry a large hat! So, do I draw him as a male? I figured that would look odd, so I used his lovely pose and transformed him into a beach babe in a 20 minute sketch.



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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Street Style Chic

It's a tricky thing to sketch a model at life drawing and turn her into a fashion illustration. You have to elongate the model, giving her a long neck and legs in particular, exaggerate her pose and make her glamorous and sexy! And all this in the space of about 10 minutes. On the other hand, the pose and clothes are in front of you so the main decisions are made for you. Trying to design something with decisions to be made for commercial purposes is another matter entirely. So here is a a little sketch I did from scratch. I have been influenced by the girls I see here every day in New York City. Chic and self assured in their eclectic street style creations. Mmn, I think I will do more of these. Right up my street! 

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Seeing Beyond the Model

Here are a couple of fast 10 minute sketches I did recently at the Society of Illustrators. Using the model's pose, I quickly elongated her body, captured her patterned dress in some quick strokes, piled up her hair and turned what was in front of me into an idealized fashion illustration. Full marks to the model for her lovely poses!



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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Don't Stew It, Just Do It

Here are some crazy fast pen and ink drawings I did at the School of Visual Arts. We had about 3-4 minutes to capture the models. No time to think. My new motto is 'Don't stew it, just do it'! I'm having a lot of fun working so fast and capturing expressive gestures in a few strokes. Don't you just love the velvet gloved hand and the black eye patch? Only in New York!






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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

From The Figurative Sketchbook

In between creating new designs and my fine art paintings, I try to do as much sketching from life as possible. The challenge of life drawing has strengthened my drawing skills and my eye for proportion, perspective and observation which has helped my drawing ability for my design work. These are all fast sketches from 2 to 5 minutes, except for the chap at the bottom....he got 20 minutes!







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