Hollywoods biggest night of red-carpet fashion was this Sunday, the 2015 Oscars and of course I had sketch my favorites as I watched! I started drawing full-scale more traditional "polished" fashion illustrations, as I've done in the past, but as the show progressed I decided I liked these smaller "quickie" sketches and chose to share a this grouping of my top picks. Immediately upon posting them on instagram during the broadcast I got likes and comments from a Vogue editor, top celebrity stylist, and an E! News fashion correspondent, which obviously made me feel good about my decision. Its pretty incredible the power of Instagram and the ability to instantly share work and get feedback in the moment.
Illustrated above above: Reese Witherspoon looking classic and chic in Tom Ford, Gwyneth Paltrow in the perfect pale pink (again) by Ralph and Russo, Jennifer Lopez was a golden goddess in Ellie Saab and Kerry Washington looked beautiful in white in her go-to designer, Miu Miu.
I wish there were more epic red-carpet events like this, because I truly love illustrating a red-carpet moment. Its fashion at its finest which is truly ideal fashion illustration inspiration, for this fashion illustrator at least!
I'm so excited to announce that starting this week my fashion illustrations are available on phone cases via Casetify within their Artist Collections. Through my Brooklit gallery you can choose not only which sketch is your favorite but they also offer nearly 30 phone models to choose from ranging from iPhones to Samsungs and even LGs. You can pick the basic snap-on case or go with something a little more special like the new metaluxe cases in rose gold or silver. (I personally love the metaluxe and ordered the rose gold "Croqui Collection" design.) As if I couldn't be more excited about this collaboration, they also ship free worldwide! So now all my friends in the United Kingdom, France and Australia and beyond can have one. Lastly I know I'm sounding like a infomercial here but I have an incentive to share, when you join and place an order through this link you will receive $10 off!!!
For months while on my Vogue/Clinique Sketch Tour I was sharing on photos of my custom phone cases (via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook) there were so many inquiries and I felt terrible that the only way to get one was to come the actual events. One of the reasons I was so excited to be asked to join the Casetify Artist Collections was because now anyone, anywhere can have a phone case from me! I've even included the same three designs from the Vogue/Clinique tour in my Casetify gallery; Margo, Kiss Kiss and Leopard Heels.
I hope you like illustrations I've chosen to kick off my Casetify collection, shown above are just a few so be sure and head over to the gallery to see the full collection. If you order I do hope you'll share a photo as I'd love to see them! And don't forget to use my referral link/code txce7h for $10 off.
My sketching tour with Vogue and Clinique was without a doubt the highlight of last year and although I posted the invitations, and shared along on Instagram, I never recapped the tour here on Fabulous Doodles. As many do at the start of a new year I've been reflecting and setting new goals, and thinking about what I'd like to focus on in the new year. In doing so I looked back to see what my highlights were. Today I'm starting a "Throwback Thursday" series and looking back on some of my past projects and events that I either want to highlight again, like this Vogue Clinique tour, and some that I have yet to share at all. On this tour throughout the summer and fall I visited five cities, appeared at nine events and live sketched countless custom illustrations of pretty party guests.
These live-sketching events were promoting Clinique's new Smart Serum, so in addition to creating custom fashion illustrations of guests we also printed them onto "smart" phone covers. I pre-designed some that were included with bonus gifts as well created custom ones for each guest. We were trying something new and it was a hit! At the start of the tour I was only signed on to do four events but after the first the Clinique team was thrilled and more cities kept being added, eventually making it 9 stops! Before I knew it I was city hopping across the country from New York, to San Francisco, Santa Clara, Miami, back to New York, To Chicago and Seattle! Sketching at events within Nordstroms, Macy's, Bloomingdales and Lord and Taylor.
Jet setting aside it was so heartwarming meeting Fabulous Doodles readers from around the country and seeing how excited people were to both meet me and have their own custom sketch. Everyone from fans of fashion illustration, to aspiring artists, to fashion bloggers and fashion design students came out. I compiled a little slideshow here to feature a few:
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Going on a sketching tour for two powerhouse brands like Vogue and Clinique, and traveling the country with a Vogue Stylist was certainly a career highlight! Hopefully there will be more big events and partnerships to come, but in the mean time I'll be looking back at this post and happily remembering all the people and places I met last year.
Earlier this week I had an incredible front row spot at Ella Henderson's US Album Release Party for her first album Chapter One and now I can't seem to stop sketching her! My British bestie Will Taylor introduced me to Ella's music about a year ago and her first single Ghost quickly became one my top songs of last year and pretty much my anthem of the last 6+ months. (So much so, I made it the soundtrack to my little 2014 year-end insta-video.)
It was surreal going with Will, one of my best friends, to this event and getting to be a part of Ella's US album release. We sang along, danced, sipped champagne and laughed the night away. It was the kind of unforgettable night that doesn't come around too often and when that happens I'm always eager to capture it. I also have to say that Ella looked fantastic and you know I love a jumpsuit! Remember this sketch of Vogue stylist Kelen, whom I toured the US with sketching for Vogue and Clinique?
If you haven't yet I highly recommend checking out Ella Henderson. Ghost and Beautifully Unfinished are my two favorites but the whole Chapter One album is great! I'm so excited she's finally here in the states and looking forward to seeing her career soar.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by actor Eric Winter to commission a custom fashion illustration of his gorgeous wife actress Roselyn Sanchez and their adorable daughter as a surprise Christmas gift. Eric did a little investigating as to his wife's favorite red carpet moments and we reviewed photos of both Roselyn and their daughter to pick looks that they both loved and best reflected the girls personalities, colors and attitudes.
I start custom illustrations with a batch of rough sketches for the client to review and choose a pose from (shown above left.) Originally the illustration was only to featured Roselyn and Sebi in their dresses but after Eric reviewed more of my work he asked if designer shopping bags could be added and possibly a Vogue magazine popping out, since I often illustrate for Vogue and it's a favorite of Ros'. I was happy to make the changes and did so in the next step, the polished line drawing (close-up shown above right.) Eric promptly approved the line drawing and I moved ahead to the final color rendering.
Eric had the illustration framed and surprised his girls Christmas morning. I was thrilled to hear it was a hit, Roselyn even instagramming and tweeting a picture saying she was "in love with her fab gift" and Eric said "you rocked it!" Needless to say working with Eric on this custom illustration was a pleasure! I loved the outcome and was so touched by the overwhelming response from them and their friends.
You can order a gift or commission your own custom illustration through my Etsy shops Brooklit and Brooklit Bride. There you will also see examples of my custom illustrations and can read more about the custom process.
Happy New Year and a big hello to 2015! I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season and are feeling refreshed and energized. Last year traveling quite a bit and being all around busy and chaotic, social media became a welcomed convenience in sharing what I was up to and sketches and projects that were in the works. I'm excited to refocus here, enrich the blog and work hard to make my dreams a reality this year with new collaborations, inspirations, and creative adventures. Cheers to a fresh start and new year!
