From sketchbook to digital paintbox

I love sketching, especially faces.  I always have.

But even more fun, is when I upload artwork into my computer, and get lost in the world of my digital paintbox.

Art Deco Inspiration

I love entering the weekly fabric contest on Spoonflower.  I especially love it lately because I have been challenging myself by using my own artwork and working on my surface design skills.

I took an original portrait design and used it in the ART DECO theme contest.

The contest required us to only use four colors, so this is the design I submitted.   I have always loved the Art Deco period and especially those magnificent Vogue magazines.  the 1920's was an amazing Fashion design era.  After all this was the era of Coco Chanel.

Coco Chanel said:

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only.  Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

I think that this is especially true of the Art Deco period.  The art, music and fashion was so amazing.  One of the reasons that I love the movie, Midnight in Paris is that I can so identify with the character played by Owen Wilson.  Truly the people he met were among my favorite authors, writers and performers.

She is called ART DECO MAGAZINE 1923.  I actually ended up creating so many different versions because it was so much fun.  But this one and the full color version, which I called ART DECO FASION MAGAZINE.

This contest will run the first week of February.  Now I have to design something for next week's contest.  Hope you enjoy the music.  I thought this post deserved a little bit of Cole Porter.  You Do Something To Me.