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?

All Relaxed - Betty Jackson FW 2010

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All Relaxed! This is exactly how I feel after my week off. I got away to a cottage, were I did absolutely nothing. I love doing nothing, and can be pretty good at it :). One thing that I did manage to do was draw this pretty look from the Betty Jackson FW 2010 collection. The description of this look on the Betty Jackson site is so decadent: "islamic pattern hand knit cardigan, dogtooth crumpled army shirt, morocaine harem jeans, flat sling backs". With such exotic descriptions, those beautiful clothes look even better!

It is good to be back! I missed you all!

x

Genya

The Rose Dress - Nina Ricci FW 2010

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Hi Everyone! I am taking a bit of a break from posting and twitter for just a week. I am going to a place in the woods, with a fireplace and a hot tub, but no internet access.

Please come back here and see me next Friday - March 26th. I will have a fresh illustration for you! :)

In the meantime, take a look at this rose covered dress! I love the Nina Ricci FW 2010 collection. Peter Copping's design is extremely feminine, but despite the multitude of flowers, it is intended for a determined woman. Despite it being a fall collection, I love all the roses - I find it to be quite versatile for all seasons.

Talk to you all next Friday! Have a great week.

x

Genya

Knitted Sensations - Mark Fast FW 2010

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Here is an illustration of this design from Mark Fast FW 2010 collection shown in London last month. Mark Fast is a proudly Canadian designer who creates intricate, close-fitting, knitted dresses. His runway shows create quite the sensation, not only because of his skillfully executed designs, but also because of his use of voluptuous models on the runway. Mark wants to emphasize that women of all sizes can look sexy and confident in his designs.

Now, I love Mark's fantastic, detail oriented looks and I completely support larger sized models in his shows. Totally great!!! My only wish is that Mark would make the sample sizes bigger to fit those curvaceous models properly - just a tad larger size would have made certain looks seem so much more flattering.

What do you think? Do big girls in tight clothes look sensual or vulgar?

Roses in Paris - Streetstyle from Mr. Newton's Photography

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I love the light spring colours and roses everywhere in this photograph taken by Mr. Newton during Paris fashion week. The oh-so-short bubble dress feels so airy and this beautiful girl radiates sunshine. Thanks for showing us a glimpse of Paris, Mr. Newton.

And BIG congrats to Nelly!! for responding to my twitter request to guess which Mr. Newton photograph I will illustrate. And she guessed right! Nelly does not only have an eye for photography, but her fashion instincts are in tune with mine :). Good work Nelly.

Spring Colour all Over - Tsumori Chisato SS 2010

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This is another spring look from the Tsumori Chisato SS 2010 collection shown in Paris Fashion Week. Even though we just had the Winter fashion shows, I don't feel like illustrating more of those for now. Instead, I choose the multitude of colours, the flowing ruffles and the subtle playfulness of this collection by the wonderful Japanese designer Tsumori Chisato.

Enjoy the warm weather everyone! I know I will. :) Off to see my fav band tonight MUSE.

What are your plans for the spring days?

x

Genya

Spring Dots - Chris Benz SS 2010

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First warm days here in Ottawa inspired me to draw something bright and summery. This cheerful and colourful look is from Chris Benz SS 2010 collection. The fun polka dots give a girly twist to spring's khaki.

The little elegant ribbon and feather fascinator is from Alice Hart Couture Millinery, available on Etsy.

Any favorite summer collections out there that you like? Please share - I need more inspiration! :)

A Girl Named Pernille - Streetstyle from Wayne Tippetts

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Those of you who read my blog regularly probably noticed my affection for Wayne Tippetts' photography on his blog Streetstyle Aesthetic. I drew several of his photographs already, and no doubt will draw more in the future. I am not exactly sure what it is, but something really touches me about certain people and how they are captured in Wayne's photography.

Wayne was busy in the past weeks covering the London Fashion Week, and this is where he run into the model Parnille Moeller. I love this photograph - the eccentric hat, the relaxed hair, the oversized scarf. It looks very British, and for some reason reminded me of Alice in Wonderland (which btw I am going to see this Saturday with @nellleo! yay!). Parnille has a bit of a Mad Hatter look going on - No?

Urban Nature - Balenciaga SS 2010

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Here is a special one! The amazing and innovative Balenciaga SS 2010 collection. This is the look that I illustrated. I love the hemp vest and the bright pistachio leather pants.

I was inspired to create this background because of a new book I got last week - 'Digital Textile Design' by Melanie Bowles. The book talks about the process of creating digital textiles in Photoshop and Illustrator, and demonstrates an enormous number of design examples from both new and established fashion designers. A really good read for anyone interested in fashion or graphic design. This book inspired me to pay more attention to my own backgrounds, and I plan to create and post them from time to time. I am hoping that someday I will even design my own digital textile block :)!

I plan to do a 'Behind the Scenes' post next week on how I did this background - it was really fun and easier then it seems.

How do you all like it?

Edgy Flowers - Christopher Kane FW 2010

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Another favorite collection from Christopher Kane, who is always surprising. This time, he created a series of tough, masculine, all-black and leather looks embroidered with delicate and colorful flower arrangements. This total contrast is so edgy and unexpected, and very beautiful. See the entire collection here.

By the way, this illustration took me a long long time to illustrate. Not sure why. Maybe because there are just too many girls squeezed onto that page? Or the detailed embroidery? But I hope you like...

Love and more Love - Erdem FW 2010, Illustrated

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Erdem can do no wrong with me and I already professed my love for him and his SS 2010 collection. Today I was waiting with anticipation for the Erdem FW 2010 collection photos to go online; I kept checking, and refreshing, and waiting and checking again. Finally they were up and I was in the clouds. The deep browns combined with his signature watercolors are beautiful. Love the laces. Love the quilted leather. Love that cape. I only hope that I did justice to his work with my illustration :).

Christopher Kane's Lolita - SS 2010

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Following the Stylish Inspiration collage from Coy Concepts, here is the illustration I promised. It is of this look from Christopher Kane's SS 2010 collection. The collection was partially inspired by the movie Lolita (the Jeremy Irons version). I think the use of the clashing gingham check is very innovative - the looks have a modern, seductive edge. It is a beautiful, well thought of collection, as I got to expect from Kane.

Btw - his FW 2010 collection is equally innovative - delicate flower embroidery on black leather?! Nice! Sketches are already in place - illustrations coming soon. :)

And also, did you notice that Miss Goose made her appearance today, as many of you requested?

Stylish Inspiration - Kane's Lolita

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Here is a little preview for tomorrow's illustration, prepared by Coy Concepts, my sister Anna. Anna regularly contributes collages to Stylish Goose for my stylish inspiration. This is a collage inspired by Christopher Kane's SS 2010 innocently provocative collection.

Image credits:

• Style.com
• Patrick Demarchelier - French Vogue, 08/06 Beau Chic, Bon Genres
• Neil Taylor Barbie Collection from propel.org.au
• Lolita (1997) from Graphics Horse blog
• Getty Images

Behind the Scenes - Illustrating Wunderkind

Hi Guys,

I decided to post another Behind the Scenes for you! Do you remember the Wunderkind illustration? This one I actually sketched on paper and scanned at 600 dpi. Then I worked in Corel Painter 11 to redraw and colour the whole thing. Painter 11 is a neat program. It lets me simulate different real-life media types like markers, oils, pastels, chalk, watercolour, and the list goes on and on. I do not know how to use all of them yet, but I have perfected some of my favorites. I tend to use gouache, colored pencils, digital watercolour and markers for most of my illustrations - including this one. But I also like to experiment - this is the best thing about Painter 11 for me.