next steps

I realize it's been awhile since I posted – mostly because I was trying to figure out the next step. Continue to blog? Take the blog in a different direction? Etsy? Portfolio site? Video? Or simply... take a break? And then, I blinked, and a year had gone by... pretty unreal. 

But even though I haven't been blogging, I have been keeping busy with other creative projects. Below is a sampling of illustrations, videos and even a few photos from the gallery opening where three pieces of my art work were chosen. I have to say, It was a pretty cool year.

Even though I don't know which direction my creative passions will take me, I know I'll keep exploring, experimenting and learning. In the meantime, you can find me and more of my projects here:

Behance   •   YouTube   •   Society6

Thanks for all the encouragement, support and best wishes to everyone,
Christina

instagram watercolors

I recently returned from my annual Craft Retreat get-away. It was my third year attending and it did not disappoint. I met amazing girls, ate tables of incredible food, tried new drinks and walked away with tons of new artwork. win, win, win and ... win. :)  

One of my projects was exploring the idea of using a few of my favorite instagram photos and extending the photos with watercolor. Hope you enjoy. :) 

NYC Anthropologie Window Display Photo

Banana Pancakes - inspired originally from one of my favorite songs and artists

Downtown Chicago

Check out some of last year's Craft Retreat creations. 

choose happiness

Lately my life has involved a lot of inner dialogue that goes something like this: “breathe Christina… breeeeeeathe… deeeeep breaths.” I know deep down things will eventually be fine and I DO realize things could be worse, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the roller coaster of emotions that’s involved with divorce. Sketching and reading positive books/articles/quotes has been a HUGE help. This one below is a pencil sketch I did with my own watercolor incorporated in the background. Hopefully you will find a bit of the serene-sunny-tranquility combination in it that I do.

keep creating: watercolor sailboat

One of the toughest things about blogging, in my opinion, is the longing for everything you put out to the world to be amazingly wow-worthy... PIN-worthy... VIRAL-worthy. Unfortunately, I have piles of creative work that's anything but.  However, I'm forcing myself to keep going, keep practicing.. sketching... painting... sewing... because I'm not going to get any better if I don't do anything, right?  This article is an amazing inspiration and refreshes the way you think about talent. Serious motivation. 

So here's some of the work I did today. Not the most impressive sailboat... I think I actually like my paint mess photos a little bit more... but I think that proves you never know where things will go. Maybe I'll take my messy palettes and scrap paper and do some collage work - who knows? The point is to keep going.. keep creating. 

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

hidden eiffel

There's something about being able to take old unwanted things and create new art out of them that is deeply satisfying for me. One of the easiest ways I know how to do this is taking an old canvas - usually that I've found at a thrift store or possible garage sale - and repainting it. *When doing this, try to get past the god-awful dated painting on it and look to see if the frame has potential and if the canvas is in good shape and not warped.;)

Below is one of my favorites. I found an old painting of the Eiffel Tower, rotated it and painted, frame included. I love that you can still make out the structure of the tower. I think it adds interest and is kind of a fun story to tell, ya know? :)

NYC Photography - Anthropolgie

I'm not trying to post about Anthropologie all the time, but they've been such a great inspiration when it's come to fashion, decor and design, it's hard not to. Even their videos captivate me. 

This time, Anthropologie was a great source in helping me decorate my home. The last time I was in NYC, I walked down to their flagship store in Rockefeller Center but got there a bit before they opened. I wandered around, taking in the NYC morning and marveling at their always-impressive window displays. (seriously google image search 'NYC Anthropologie' please - impressive stuff).

Below are some of my photos, and at the end, a desaturated version (enlarged to ~22 x 34") that works perfectly with my bedroom decor (dark grey walls, this WestElm duvet cover that I'm completely in love with, fresh white sheets and a mix of antique and contemporary dark stained furniture). Can't wait to get it up on the wall :).

 

 

pens, pencils & paintbrushes

I usually have 1 to 2 to 20 random art ideas brewin' in my head at all times. It's usually just a matter of finding the time to get into my design/sewing/art/storage room and see if what's in my head can translate on canvas or paper.

I'd had this pen/pencil/paintbrush art idea for close to a year. I've always loved collage work, repetition, and series art ... and I'm so inspired by people who take the most random object and create an amazing piece of art work. So anyways -– We've always had a large amount of almost-dried up pens, paintbrushes that are beyond help and pencils that just don't get used so I thought they'd be the perfect subject matter. This messy, drippy, multi-colored art was really fun to create and I'm loving the results. :)

 

wave collage

Last weekend I got the opportunity to meet up with 13 awesomely talented girls and for 4 days and 3 nights we illustrated, created, quilted, collaged, scraped, designed, photographed and wined & dined. We slept in, caught up on our books & mags, went running (or not ;), and took inCREDible uninterrupted showers. (for Mom's with little ones - this is as good as gold). 

Cherry on top is that you actually get a ton of stuff done during this weekend. I finally wrapped up a project that I've been working on and off for way way too long: filling some blank frames on my wall (See first initial brainstorm here). I ended up going in a different direction (with thanks to my RoXy and Quicksilver catalogs), but it was fun to collage and it's great to finally have a little more color up on the walls. 

type on

Lately, I’ve been so drawn to white type and logos set on top of photos or images. I can appreciate both the cleaner digital styles and also the handwritten designs. Each one can add so much to an image and the true typography can really shine. Below are some I really love (there are SO many great examples out there I could’ve kept looking all night.) I also added an adorable video showcasing tons of typography – all in French :) Avoir une bonne nuit mes amis!

Bed & Breakfasting

Stop being Afraid

Highly Decorated

John & James

I'm Thankful for Today
(so this one isn't really a designed piece but at the same time, 
it could be. And I like it. So there :) 

fashion52: photo challenge (19/52)

I picked up an amazing fashion sketch pad from Urban Outfitters on our most recent MoA trip.   It took about three and a half weeks to crack it open, which I suppose is about right on track for a working mother of two. Either way, it was even more amazing than I had realized - a garment encyclopedia, industry terms, inspirational readings and links, all on top of 380 figure templates. 

A cool trick on top of it all: The croquis (templates) are printed with a particular ink tone so that they'll disappear when scanned or photocopied, eliminating evidence of the template. How sweet is that? ;) 

map wall art - part 1

I’ve been brainstorming wall art ideas for quite awhile now. (see MAP section) Right now I’m trying to create two complimentary designs – one of Italy (where we’ve been), one of Hawaii (where we'll go someday). I’m also brainstorming ways to combine graphic elements of a few other favorite things: maybe string lights? constellations? minimalist design? pop of color? grey + white pattern? I feel like I could design this project 50 different ways but am struggling to come up with one design I like. Here's part 1 of the process: Starting off with some inspirational maps and designs, doing some sketching and then messing around the hawaii map. Once I get a design that I'm happy with, if that ever happens, I will start the Italy map and WA-LA, we will get some design work up on the walls. :)

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pretty faces

Things have been so hectic lately that it felt really therapeutic to sit down with a sketch pad and pencils and draw this week. I thought I'd share a face that I was playing around with. I think it's really interesting to combine different mediums and then also incorporate more technical designs. I love the endless possibilities and can't wait to explore more.

adding color

My walls have been pretty bare and boring since we moved in so I was really happy/relieved to finally get to this project this weekend. I was lucky in that, I already had an old canvas that I had painted, that was framed and ready to go. It was just a matter of painting something new overtop. See some of my inspirations here. It feels SO SO good to get some color in the room. :)

Awesome pillow here. Great wood frame here.