My Experimental Night

I just baked something very experimental - an overly healthy pear & oatmeal cake with no sugar, fat or gluten. I know... it sounds so strange and I take full credit for inventing it: lots of chopped pears, whole oatmeal, oat flour, ground almonds, skim milk, plain 2% yogurt, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, baking soda & baking powder.

My mom had the first slice and she approved (I passed the big test!). My boyfriend had the second slice and he approved also (but of course he has to! ;P ). I had the third slice and I am so proud of myself tonight.

One other thing I am proud of! Here is a small illustration for this week. As you might know, my primary and most favourite tool to draw with is a fine black pen. I am trying to expand my horizons and learn some new techniques, so I bought a really educational art book called "Creating Textures in Pen & Ink With Watercolor" by Claudia Nice.




I am far from mastering the textures yet, but here is a start. Sketched with a black pen, coloured with my beloved Corel Painter 11 and Wacom Intuos 4 Tablet.

I hope you tried doing something new lately too?

x

Genya

Inconsistent Blogger and a Mauve Dress

I am feeling very guilty right now for being a bum and putting Stylish Goose on hold for all those months. But after many nags from friends (especially Nelly and Anna), lots of inspiration from my new fashion magazines (which arrive at an unbelievable rate thanks to Erica and Monika) and reading all your kind comments and emails, this long hiatus came to an end.

I drew this mauve princess some time ago, and got to colour it just now while watching the Oscars (...Colin Firth is Wow!...). For a change, this illustration is a no-ones design - it is completely Stylish Goose original.

till next time,

Genya

Tala Samman - The Chic Fashionista

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Occasionally, I receive requests from very stylish girls to illustrate them. I do not do personal commissions, so those are purely "as the mood strikes" works for me - totally fun! Sometimes I illustrate the requests, sometimes I don't. It all depends on my mood, my free time and me feeling inspired. If I don't illustrate, I usually put the ideas away to come back to at a later time. So please keep the suggestions coming ;).

A few days ago, I received a lovely email from Tala Samman. She is a gorgeous, dark haired beauty from the Middle East, who runs a fashion blog My Fash Diary and is a fashion student in London. As I looked through her chic personal style photos, I was immediately attracted to the bright coloured simple dress (you know I love colour!) and the supper tall boots. Here is my illustration of this natural beauty.

Pretty Wilderness - Emma Cook SS 2010

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I wanted to do another illustration of Emma Cook for a while now. This British designer is amongst my favorites because of her subtle and humorous approach to fashion. Her collections are always pretty, feminine and wearable, but very far from ordinary. Emma Cook is known to incorporate wild elements from nature in her clothes. I think the little serious fox on this dress from her SS 2010 collection is fantastic.

Thanks to Coy Concepts, my sister Anna who is a talented graphic designer, for preparing this scrapbook inspiration for me to illustrate from. A bit of the seventies, the wilderness, flower fields, and lots of style.

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Black and White - Devastee SS 2010

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Hello Friends! Sorry for the unusually long delay between posts. I am reducing the rate of posts for the summer, so that I can enjoy the warm weather, spend time with friends and family (I am getting my grandma from Russia to visit us over the summer), and work on a major illustration project I was planning for a while (more on that later). I will still keep posting regularly, on weekly basis, so come back and see what will be illustrated on Stylish Goose.

Here is a cheerful illustration to brighten your week. I love this easy going look from the entirely black and white SS 2010 collection by Devastee. I love this dress, it looks very comfortable for the summer, and it is a cool take on menswear. And I love the top detail to show a bit of skin.

Keeping with the menswear theme, those pointy lace-ups are really in this summer, right? I think those Coral Brogues from Mauro Grifoni SS 2010 accessories collection are supper cute. The antique leather goes well with this easy cool look.

Does anyone of you guys have this style of shoe? I don't, but I really was thinking about it...

Vancouver Luxury - Obakki SS 2010

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Here is another illustration of a Canadian brand, suggested to me by the fashion savvy Annching. Thanks so much for the great suggestion!

Obakki is a Vancouver based brand and they have simply elegant and luxuriously wearable clothes for both guys and girls. I immediately loved the navy checked trench coat, and had to use it as the base of my illustration. It is a cute twist on the tradition, and looks so easy to wear. Some fabulous silky accessories in soft pink make this look feminine and soft.

The pretty rose petal head band with pearls is from Coco Boudoir - a cool Toronto based Etsy brand. The designer, Erin, makes colourful silk necklaces and head bands that are just perfect for summer evening parties! :)

I love the playfully sexy bralette in Bliss Pink by Hanky Panky - a seriously adorable lingerie brand that has a fun retro feel.

Finally, the shoes! Ruffly, sweet, soft pink sandals from Badgley Mischka. What more can I say?



Do you have a designer suggestion for me to illustrate? Let me know. I love learning about talented new and independent designers.

Montreal Fashion Week - Denis Gagnon FW 2010

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I have previously illustrated the Montreal based designer Denis Gagnon, and this is yet another one from his FW 2010 collection. I find his designs really fascinating - they are modern, cool and always include interesting details with innovative use of materials. Last season, Denis Gagnon turned clusters of zippers into decorative embellishments. This season it was his use of abundance of fringe carefully shaped into amazingly fierce shapes. Denis Gagnon also continued to utilize zippers throughout the collection, and I especially love the obvious and long back zippers that adorned many dresses. Pictures alone do not do justice to those designs, so check out this video.

Canada has so much talent! In addition to Denis Gagnon, I have illustrated Lucian Matis, Erdem, Mark Fast and Eugenia Leavitt before, but I want more! Do you have any Canadian designer suggestions for me?