Merry Christmas(Eve)!

I wish you a happy holidays!  :]

Happy accidents?

Recently I got a couple of white ink pens  :]  As you can see, not the most opaque application from this one, but I kind of like the little textures created by layering the ink.

6 x 9.5" watercolor paper.

As I was painting this, the dropper wasn't... well, dropping any ink. So in confusion, I squeezed a tiiiiny bit more... and then it splattered onto the paper. I thought I'd leave it because it looks kind of interesting. Just think of it as her heel exploded or something... while smiling.

Please check your inks before using them, especially if you haven't for a while.

12.07.12

4.5 x 7" watercolor paper.

I tried out the dry brush technique with some India ink to create the shape of the ribbon. I always liked the texture dry brush creates, and the freeness of suggesting a shape rather than creating lines for tight control. It was a little challenge for me – in the beginning I was concerned about messing up the whole thing, but I'm happy with the results  :]

Bonus:
Since it's almost Christmas, here's a more holiday-themed color scheme:

On the table

In flux.

Still experimenting, trying different combinations.

Wanderer

5 x 7" watercolor paper.

I had gotten a bottle of metallic silver acrylic ink for a previous project I'd had in mind, but decided against using it... and forgot about it. It was recently unearthed while I was cleaning my room and going through some supplies laying around.

The metallic acrylic ink seems to be a bit more forgiving than the usual acrylic paint, but it also seems to be a little more difficult for my scanner to pick up.

Music: Your Hand In Mine ♫

Your Hand in Mine is a duo from Greece in the vein of moshimoss with ambient instrumental music.

I couldn't find the EP on Inner Ear Records' bandcamp anymore, but the album is still streaming on their site

Recommended:
2. The Youngest One Had a Rose in His Mouth
4. Formaica


Recommended:
2. Waitress Omitsu Came Back
5. At the Bar I
6. Neighbours
7. The Stranger
9. Sudative Luminareten
12. Father and Son
16. Dinner
18. The Decision
20. Please, Surrender
22. Outro

Recommended:
haha everything.

All albums streamed on Your Hand In Mine's website
'Every Night Dreams' and 'The Garden Novels' available on Inner Ear Records' Bandcamp and on iTunes.

Simple things.

I guess it was about time for me to really appreciate simply being able to draw. I've become so accustomed to being able to draw what I had in mind whenever I wanted, it was very unsettling and frustrating to be unable to for a (relatively) long period of time. It's like when you're sick and relearn to appreciate being healthy.

So now, I've been happily drawing and painting – both digitally and by hand.

Space Case

I hadn't been able to draw anything for a week or two. After sitting and trying to work it out, it wasn't happening so I simply left it alone and wandered around. For now, I'm back and my hand is working like it's supposed to.

However, I didn't follow the golden rule of constantly saving while using Photoshop and... lost the entire drawing I'd been working on. Cue shock, disbelief, and lots of shouting.

So this is what I've got from when I reopened Photoshop and started on something new:

I thought it was kind of interesting like this with the space and suggestion of form.

Happy Halloween!

Conical Stud Horns available from Topshop

Let It Rain ☁⌁

Little 3 x 3.5" drawing I just finished. Glad my scanner caught the metallic paint and even made it look 3-D in places.

More little steps.

Couple of images this week, still figuring things out.

Music: Moshimoss ♫

The room was empty. The only clues that remained of any of life was the empty tumbler with sweat dripping on the bedstand. A slight tinge of perfume in the air. Left on the unmade bed, was a large envelope, bound in tape. In the envelope, maps of Iceland and a casette was found. Fourteen pieces of music unravelling a scenery of emotion and glimpses of timelessness... The secrets that Kosuke Anamizu has buried on Hidden Tape No. 66 are deeply telling. Unearthing these ten artifacts, we understand that they are meant for someone else. Vast and inward, the tracks are lovingly assembled from detailed field recordings, guitars, and electronics. Soundscapes flowing through a filter of longing and mystery.

That's the description provided for Hidden Tape No. 66, moshimoss/Kosuke Anamizu's first (and only?) album. I can't really describe it better than that.

Here's a bit more information on Kosuke Anamizu himself via his page on label Dynamophone:

Making his home in the shadow of Mt. Fuji, Kosuke Anamizu’s ethic stems from a belief that music and nature are fundamentally coupled. Driven by great expanse, his goal is to impart the warmth of life to the wide landscapes of our inner worlds. Kosuke’s doppleganger is one part of The Potone!, an electronica band on the Neguse Group label.

I'd suggest listening to the whole album, but these are the ones you should listen to for sure (in my opinion):
3. 'Slow Days It Was Super'
5. 'Moss Pillow'
7. 'Light'
9. 'Cold Fever'
10. 'Melody'

Digital album available on Bandcamp.
(there's also a free downloadable EP of three of the songs from the album if you need some help making up your mind)

Brushfire Records T-shirt

Here are my entries for Creative Allies' contest to design a T-shirt for Brushfire Records.

Brushfire Records was started in 2002 by Jack Johnson and longtime friend Emmett Malloy at the Mango Tree studio in Hawaii to release soundtracks for their surf films under Woodshed Films (then called The Moonshine Conspiracy). The label allowed Jack to release his music as well as connect and support fellow artists that they liked and respected. Brushfire Records has since moved to Los Angeles, where they continue releasing new music and films from their solar-powered studio The Solar Powered Plastic Plant.

They are streaming the albums they have released on their website. The music is charming and relaxing, so I wanted to create a design that had a similar feeling:

There was a two-color limit, so it was fun making different combinations and little variations for each color scheme. Which do you like?  :]

vote

vote

vote

vote

vote

vote

You can see and vote for the other entries here
Have a good weekend ♫

Little steps.

Here's an experiment I did to try out some of the things I've been mulling over. I'm not entirely sold on the results, but I'd like to think it's a step in the right direction.

This was primarily an excuse to try out my scanner and the copper paint I got recently.

It's really dumb, but I think I got so eager to try the new scanner I got creative dam because there were too many ideas going crazy. I guess it carried over because I ended up with two versions on somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum...

Which one is your favorite?  :]

Priscilla Ahn gig poster

Building upon the image I made inspired by 'One Day I Will Do,' I made a gig poster for Priscilla Ahn's upcoming show in LA at the Bootleg Bar with guests The Parlour Suite and Communist Daughter.

I added the swirly details connecting the names and recreated the 'A' in order to make it more easy to read.

One Day I Will Do

Inspired by Priscilla Ahn's song 'One Day I Will Do.'

I used flowers that impart feelings of hope, overcoming anxiety and challenges, and growth  :]

Mini update.

Currently I'm still working on the painting I showed a snippet of on Friday. I've been going back and forth playing around with the colors on Photoshop to see how they will look and putting paint on paper.
As of right now there are eight layers making miniature tweaks. Yes, eight. Photoshop is great/horrible for crazy people like me.

Here's how it's looking right now:

Sneak peek and a slight detour

Here's a little sneak peek of what I'm working on:

I also did these quick, random images so I could play around on Photoshop and Illustrator:

I quickly made the pattern, but when I looked at it, I kept thinking the shape kind of reminded me of something...

I figured it out, it reminds me of the Chao from Sonic.

... Okay so maybe you have to squint a little to see them, but that's what came to my mind.

It was kind of nice to make an image simply for the sake of playing around and 'loosening up.' Sometimes I think I get a little too tense and feel like everything should be serious business and have a point. Photoshop and Illustrator make for nice little diversions.

Hope you have a good weekend  :]

Music: GIRIBOY (기리보이) ♫

GIRIBOY is a Korean hip-hop artist. His debut album Fatal Album was released in June with seven tracks (all written by him) that feature artists Gganmo, Block B's rapper Zico, Beenzino, Uglyduck, Cho Danbi, Swings, and Im Sunghyun.

Tracks:

1. You're a Chemical (feat. Beenzino)
2. 얼굴에 다 써있네요 - Everything is Written on Your Face (feat. Uglyduck)
3. 내몸이 불 타오르고 있어 - My Body is Full of Fire (feat. Cho Danbi)
4. 시간이 날 기다려 - Tik Tok (feat. Swings and Im Sunghyun)
5. 계획적인 여자 - Manipulating Woman (feat. Gganmo and Zico)
6. 이제 안돼 - Not Now
7. You Don't Look Good to Me (Psychoban remix)

He has also released this music video:

source i || source ii

Shoes II

I added onto the series of 'flat' shoes I started (post here) to make a nice even set of ten 'flat' shoes. Here are the three new additions:

Rachel Antonoff by Bass - Matilda

Marais USA - Woven Sandal

Doc Martens x Liberty London - 1460 Strawberry Thief 

Print set of all ten 'flat' shoes available here.

And with that, there is now a full set of 20 shoes  :]

Material: Aoi Kotsuhiroi

Aoi Kotsuhiroi's heels are like the wilder, more painful and dangerous-looking version of the Day 2. I kind of love them.

I remember seeing these floating around on Tumblr a while back, but I was reminded (and actually given a source) by Haute Macabre.

Heels

Deandri - Helga

Jeffrey Campbell - Float

I liked when I saw the Simone Rocha pair of oxfords with a transparent heel, but I like the fact that a majority of this shoe is transparent, giving even more of the illusion you're, well, floating along on your tiptoes.

Jeffrey Campbell - Day 2

I really love the minimalistic design and the subtle twist of the curved heel. It reminds me of a fang and Mugler's heels. Unfortunately, this style didn't work for my foot so they had to go back  :[

Jeffrey Campbell x Solestruck - Taunt

I'd been a fan of the little detail of the heels from Burberry Prorsum's A/W 2011. Wedges feel like the most supportive 'type' of heel, but sometimes the shape ends up looking very solid and bulky. The tiny cutout detail for a mini heel within the platform breaks it up nicely.

And of course, I love the rounded studs. Being able to take off your shoes without stabbing your hand is always nice, since I'm the type of person who forgets they're wearing something that could double as a weapon and proceeds to hurt themself.

Lothian - Daisy

Dolce Vita - Vixen

Senso - Vega

Michael Antonio - Gallista

Jeffrey Campbell - Roque 2

Messeca - Coraline

All ten of these are available as a set here  :]