Givenchy Fashion Illustration

Classic 8 x 10, 15 Minute Mixed Media Fashion Illustration created with pencil, marker, acrylic and watercolor.

It is always fun playing with color and light in Photoshop to see how I can transform a fashion illustration like this into a piece of electronic art.

 

Dior Fashion Illustration

The eccentric lines on the side make this a classic fashion illustration with a few twists. This piece details fashion icon Ashley Olsen wearing Vintage Dior at the Met Gala in 2011.

While I am normally in love with whatever Mary Kate or Ashley is wearing, this dress spoke very loudly to the aesthetics of design that I love. The sleek bodice and slimming skirt is universally flattering, made modern and sexy by a high side slit. What tips this dress over the edge for me are the fabulous and voluminous sleeves that are reminiscent of medieval European fashion. When the historic fashion mixes with the otherwise contemporary elements of the design, an exciting blend is created.

The same concept can be said for applying modern artistic techniques to classic fashion illustrations and portraits. Using a rainbow gradient, this piece is transformed into a bright and electrifying, pop-art interpretation.

Taking the design experiments further still, the illustration being put in Black and White gives it clearly classic design aspect, although a graphic red rose gives a stylish stamp of modernism.

The one red rose may feel random or out of place, so I tried going all out with a two other roses that give a dash of blue and green and a curious, dynamic balance. 

Finally, I incorporated an otherworldly garden backdrop that gives the piece added depth and fantasy and in recognition of the time-honored fashion illustrations used by designers, I added the 'dior' text to cite and promote the designer whose dress inspired this illustration.   

Family (Father & Son) Shots

I love to photograph people- especially people that I love! What started out as a professional/client relationship turned into a friendship that I now have with Isaac and his awesome and adorable son Javin!

Isaac was impressed with my work and believes in my creative eye as a photographer and an artist which I truly appreciate. Some people don't always recognize the thought that goes into art- let alone photography. In the twenty first century, with cell phone cameras, the art and value of photography has sadly diminished in many people's minds but I continue to stress how important photography is because it captures the world around us so perfectly. A few hundred years ago, people would sit still for hours as a painter captured their likeness on a canvas; to have a portrait of oneself or one's family was something treasured and almost sacred. When photography was created in the 1800's, it eventually took the sacred act of artistic creation and elevated it to a level of realism that made the artists job not irrelevant but more demanding. Being able to shoot a camera and capture an image was and is so easy that anyone with a working trigger finger can do it, however whereas a painter was someone talented enough to create one's likeness with paint, the artist and now photographer has to take the convenience that a camera provides and work to display the artistry of the craft through lighting, posing, composition, styling and editing.

Most of the necessities for creating photographic art are taken care of when you have subjects as great as Javin and Isaac! For one, their love as father and son is clear to see in person and just as evident in photographs. When everyone is comfortable and the vibe is naturally positive, naturally great photos will almost create themselves- especially insofar as poses.

Shooting in the Ross Dock Picnic Area in Fort Lee, New Jersey we were given a scenic backdrop of New York City and the George Washington Bridge. Even though it became an overcast, gloomy day and eventually rained, the muted, natural light allowed for a subtle glow that studio lighting rarely achieves; nothing is better than god-given natural light.

Composition is of the utmost importance when shooting photography. It's all too easy with digital cameras to shoot first and think later (and sometimes that actually is the recommended method, like when photographing very lively and uncooperative children) but to keep the shoot short and sweet, ideas should be fully thought out yet still have a concise execution; making for higher quality photographs overall. Quality is always more important than quantity and one perfectly composed picture will blow a dozen haphazard shots out of the water. When shooting one subject, they should always interact with their surroundings and/or attire and be posed in a way that feels alluring yet natural. When shooting two or more subjects, they must work together. Even if the subjects stand on their own and aren't touching or really interacting with one another, if they're in the same photograph, they are like two pieces of the puzzle that have to fit into the picture so they still have to make sense together.

"Like father, like son" is a good saying to be true when the style and attitude is served like this. Styling is just as important as composition and is actually part of it. Styling is like cooking, when you have a bunch of ingredients and how it's going to taste, or how the photograph is going to look, all depends on how you mix and cook the ingredients. When the ingredients include an Urban Backdrop, a Black Dodge Charger, Leather Jackets and Ripped Jeans and two fierce male models, it's actually hard to mess it up but still exciting when it comes out right.





To show variety in the facial expressions is really what it all might come down to. As the eyes are the window to the soul, they are truly the center of any portraiture. Every other element of the art could be on point but if the eyes and expression are off, nothing else matters. It's exciting to me as a photographer when a subject can go from mugging fiercely like a high fashion model to casually relaxing and smiling naturally. To model is in line with the work of an actor and goes to show that when the models are successful at their job, they are just as much an artist as the photographer.

Kids Bedroom Paintings

When I was a young kid I imagined myself working at Disney World as an artist. I grew up in the 90's when Disney was at its peak with Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King and these movies influenced my mind as a child. I believe all of these beautifully drawn animated films watered the seed of imagination in my mind, allowing it to grow and blossom into the ethos that still to this day inform my art and writing and forged my love for the fantasy genre.



So when one of my best friends requested a few Disney Paintings for her new son's bedroom, I was more than happy to oblige. I'm quite happy with how these 16 x 20 acrylic paintings on canvas turned out as they perfectly capture the spirited adventure of Aladdin and the romantic reverence of Beauty and the Beast. Aside from the associated nostalgia, the way the bright golds and yellows pop off of the royal midnight blue backdrops make these paintings especially striking and remarkable.

We also had a go at painting some 'Alice in Wonderland' character on the kid's playroom wall. Alice putting the daisy crown on her cat Dinah is adorable and the White Rabbit with the Mad Hatter is fun and quirky and even incorporates my friends daughters name and year of birth in the rabbits watch. 

Across the room in another corner, we added some more 'Beauty and the Beast' characters Plumette, Cogsworth and Lumiere who all turned out nicely. Once drawn out on the wall with pencil to make sure the proportions are correct, we had fun filling in the enlarged characters with acrylic paint. 

I worked in a similar way for my own nephew Liam who loves the movie 'Toy Story'. My brother asked me to paint a 'Toy Story' mural on his son's wall so I gathered all the characters together on the toy box, including Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, Hamm, Rex, the Aliens, Slinky, Bullseye, Jesse and Bo-Peep.  And then higher up on the wall I added an army man parachuting down and of course, Woody and Buzz! I loved doing this mural for my nephew
even if they did end up moving to a different house! I hope the new owner's didn't paint over it but regardless, the pictures and memory remains.

Seven Deadly Sins

Years ago while I was studying fine arts at Hudson Valley Community College, during a trip to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York City I was struck and captivated by a series of paintings that represented each of the seven deadly sins from the Christian Bible.

These paintings were done by artist Paul Cadmus in the 1940's and are extremely disturbing yet fascinatingly stylized and enigmatic.

Anger, Sloth, Pride, Envy, Lust, Avarice/Greed and Gluttony. These "transgressions of divine law" seem to be embedded into the human experience regardless of their implications in religion. During our lives on this earth, especially this day and age, it is arguably impossible to avoid these feelings: Envy and Greed seep into young people's minds through the constant media bombardment that shows us wealth excess and promotes mindless consumerism. The trend towards excess applies to the sin of Gluttony as well, as America's appetite for excess continues to grow and make it the fattest and most unhealthy country in the world. Anger and Lust are perhaps the most primal of the sins, one's that have always reared their ugly heads and always will regardless of what time period we're in. Pride is perhaps stronger than ever in society, like Envy and Greed, where our culture places fortune, fame and "status" above living simply and with dignity. A balance is needed in our lives though because just as ambition for fame and fortune can overrule one's moral compass, the sin of Sloth can be equally problematic because when one is lazy and has no desire to accomplish anything positive with their life, it is a damn shame. 

Regardless of the ominous connotations associated with the seven deadly sins, something about the original concept and the numerology of the personified assemblage called to be illustrated. As a fine arts major with a minor in fashion illustration, it wasn't necessarily my intent but my natural inclination to illustrate each of the sins with an attractive female figure. 

Lightly inspired by the compositions of Alphonse Mucha, I placed each of the figures in a center circle to not only pay homage to one of my favorite artist's but as a practical technique to enclose the figures together, suggesting them to be one unit and to simply create the composition of the piece.






The center and perhaps standout figure (fashion-wise anyway) is Envy, standing regally in a jade green gown; the color of course representing the feeling of jealousy as well as her pose which was chosen purposefully to show the attitude of this vice. On either side of her is Anger and Gluttony; Anger in red with her frustrated hands on her head and Gluttony standing tall and dramatically, taking up much of the space with her excess embodiment. With Gluttony, as with all of the sins, I didn't want her to be a typically obese embodiment of the sin; not in an effort to glamorize (although I do like visually beautiful things) but to remember that all of the sins can still look beautiful and attractive, even when they're at their worst. Behind anger, standing a bit farther back from the others is Greed; representing the isolation that comes with only caring about money and things and not caring about people. Rounding out the seven sinful figures is Lust on top, Sloth on bottom left and Pride on bottom right. Lust is on top, representing the high that sexual indulgence can bring and also being above all of the others shows how lust is almost an umbrella for the other sins; whether it's our lust for sex, lust for laziness, lust for food, lust for money or lust what other people have- it all derives from an internal, insatiable lust for want. Sloth and Pride on the bottom clearly show the apathetic nature of sloth who just doesn't give a shit and the showoff nature of Pride who holds her legs and shoes up for us to gaze at and yearn for.

I'm extremely interested in and excited by the concept and process of not only enhancing but completely reworking a piece of artwork through electronic means. I wanted to take my simple line drawing of the figures and add the colors, render the depth and elevate it electronically into a modern, striking fashion vignette with thoughtful symbolism.

Fashion Party (Series)

 

 

Fashion Party Collage Poster

 

Fashion Party Girls 

Fashion Party Girls (Beer Goggles)

 

Lambda Sigma Delta

 

The Life of the Party 

 

The Dealer 

 

Hallucinogenic 

 

Stoned 

 

Blitzed

 

 Tripping

 

My Eyes are Up Here

 

Wasted 

 

Wasted 1 (Rum and Coke)

                                                                         

                                Wasted 2 (Wino)

                            Wasted 3 (Vodka Soda)

Wasted 4 (Gin and Tonic)

 

 

Rolling 

 

 Rolling Rainbow Dimension

 

 

Boudoir

The word "Boudoir" is French (from bouder "to pout, sulk") and refers to a "room where a lady may retire to be alone"; like a glamorous female version of a "man-cave".  Perhaps this words deeper meaning as to pout or sulk is why so many boudoir shots have moody, dramatic lighting and emotive poses. I believe these shadowy, atmospheric images beautifully capture what a woman intends to exhibit with a boudoir shoot- her innate sensuality.

Not all boudoir shots have to be melodramatic to be moving. By use of lovely, lacy lingerie, a mix of soft and bright pink tones, pretty props and accessories to decorate a delicately alluring pose, a classic, innocent yet strongly feminine look can be achieved. 

One of my favorite props to use in boudoir shoots is a mirror. Mirrors are great for capturing different angles of the subject to begin with, but when you are really aiming for sensual emotion and artistic sexuality, through the different angles, the mirror allows for both the physical reflection of exhibiting the bodies natural beauty and also the emotional, romantic reflection captured through the flirtatious eyes of the subject. 

Using props like a classic long stemmed red rose and playing with color effects like making the image Black and White while popping out the rose in color can elevate an otherwise perfectly beautiful boudoir shot into a more stylized piece of artwork. In both full color and Black and White, something about this image screams 'Old Hollywood' glamour.

Similar decorative effect can be fashioned with the antique style sepia tone, even bringing out the subject's reflection in color; aesthetically giving the already elegant image a deeper artistic reading.

What's better than one mirror? - Three mirrors, or a Tri-fold mirror that allows for multiple reflections and angles to really display all of the beautiful curves of the body. 

 

While this has potential to seem narcissistic, especially to anyone who finds boudoir photography vainglorious to begin with, it needs to be remembered that there is a fine line between self-love and self-worship. It should never be considered a vice to love yourself; why should we not be grateful for the body our creator has given to us in this life and celebrate it with a brilliant photograph? The fact that our current physique will fade and our exquisitely artful bodies will perish altogether is all the more reason to in the current moment, immortalize the ancient work of art that is our human body through artwork of our own composition.