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Hello my dears,
At last, I am back. It has been a long time indeed.
I am in Switzerland at the moment, and for those of you who have never been here in the summer, I entirely recommend it. It’s light, green and so beautiful.
I have been drawing LOTS and working on tons of different projects: children’s clothes for a client in LA, portraits for a client in NY, business cards, logos and stationery for a client in Brazil, a children’s book, a book of short stories and a brand new blog project. I am breathless and in need of a good nap, but excited and inspired.
I have updated my website and added a number of new pieces and projects there. Check them out on www.atelierjoanafaria.com - I hope you like it!
I am always posting pictures, sketches and work in progress on Instagram. For updates, follow me @joanafaria.
Lots of love from Switzerland.
♥♥♥
A summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits and a very interesting boy.
And finally, this is what the final piece looks like:
This was such a sweet little project. I loved the book (yes, I had to read it in order to draw this cover) and I tried to make good use of my newly acquired watercolor skills. The story itself is quite timeless. There isn’t an indication of when it’s taking place, so I took some liberties and decided to play around with acid colors and do something kind of retro-looking. It was a lot of fun.
Lots of love.
♥♥♥
♥ Back to the studio, a.k.a. The Kitchen, a little research is crucial before I start drawing. For my Children’s Illustration course, I was asked to illustrate a section of a poem about animals. I chose the section that talks about birds and decided to draw an ice skating seagull. Yay, fun!
I don’t have a photographic memory and can’t draw animals from my head alone (unless I am completely making them up) so it always helps to look at some references. In this case, I was looking at photographs of seagulls.
And then, I start: first I pencil in a rough sketch;
And then I add the colors.
I finish it off with a couple of details.
And that’s it! Here is the final piece.
This was a sweet assignment. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Stay tuned for my next two projects: New York Portraits and a book cover for The Penderwicks.
Lots of love from the East Village.
♥♥♥
In between a weekend trip to Texas, countless nights out, gallery visits, a dozen cocktails and many miles covered in and around Manhattan (on foot, of course, just like everyone else in this city), the following events have taken place:
♥ 1) I have finally uncovered the secret why the average New Yorker loves walking so much: they have truly perfected the Art of Walking. See bellow for photographic evidence.
♥ 2) I have fallen head over heels in love with Gwyneth Leech’s illustrated coffee cups on show at the Sprint Artspace in the Flatiron building. Check them out:
Aren’t they adorable? It’s such a fun and sweet idea in such a unique little spot, it never fails to make me smile and think: “Damn, I wish I had come up with that!”
♥ 3) Meanwhile, in my studio, a.k.a. The Kitchen, I have successfully completed my first children’s illustration assignment: a page of the oriental fairytale “The broken pot”.
I have decided not to use any kind of digital effect and do everything by hand. (Yes, the old-fashioned way.) I used black pencil and watercolors. Here is the end result:
Considering that this was my second time using watercolors, I am rather proud of the final piece. The wet on wet technique is definitely a challenge though. There is no way to predict what’s going to happen. The paint goes where it pleases. It’s insane!
If you’re a relaxed artist who thrives on “happy accidents”, this is fantastic news! If you’re a stressed out little control freak and a Cmd+Z addict, then this is your worst nightmare. At the moment I find myself somewhere between the two. Not for long, I hope.
That’s it for today, my darlings. Stay tuned for more New York updates and for some bonus Texas posts too! (After all, I didn’t drink all those margaritas for nothing! :)
All pictures taken by me.
Lots of love from the Lower East Side.
♥♥♥
I mentioned before that I am currently illustrating two children’s books.
For an illustrator, this is one of the best and most rewarding projects you can do. Not only because you are completely free from the usual more restricted briefs, but you can also let your imagination fly and think from the point of view of a younger version of you.
I am one of those people who loves cartoons, Hello Kitty stickers, fluffy animals and Disney characters, so I guess I have always been in touch with the child in me.
On one of our many e-mail exchanges, one of the writers I am working with reminded me of Maurice Sendak, the amazing author and illustrator behind Where the Wild Things are.
This is a master piece. I love the monsters and I LOVE Max. He is a terrible kid, but I identify with his need to escape even if it’s only for a little while (after all, he does go back home to his mum in the end, and to his supper). The illustrations are very unique. I love Sendak’s very dense use of lines and his “dirty” earthly colors. I also think it’s brilliant that he decided to present Max wearing a wolf costume. Not only does he look adorable, I think it really helps bringing out the monster in him, this wild side that Max finds so difficult to control. I also loved finding out that Sendak named all the monsters after his own relatives. I can’t help but smile when I think of that. What a wonderful touch.
Now, I can’t possibly talk about this book, without mentioning the film.
I know it received mixed reviews but I truly loved it. The art direction and photography are stunning from beginning to end. Max and the monsters are identical to the original characters thought by Sendak, and the soundtrack is the best.
That final scene, when Max and Carol say goodbye to each other, breaks my heart. I find it so moving and symbolic. For me it represents the kid leaving his inner monster behind. Abandoning his wild side. It’s so sad and tragic. I guess it’s what growing up is all about. – But then again, I’m a big softie. I always cry watching movies.
Beautiful film. Spike Jonze can’t really do wrong in my eyes. I’m a huge fan.
Happy Thursday.
♥♥♥
