I used to walk down the street like I was a fucking star... I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be - and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth.
Lady GaGa
Mural Contest
Mural Contest:
Create a mural inspired by the performing arts and the natural Southern California area.
Mural Description:
In her mural design, Rachel Estrada combined the magic of performance, and the natural beauty of the Conejo Valley area. In this piece, the dancers, instruments, and music are morphing out of the plant life. It is an imaginative and whimsical illustration where reality and nature become blurred. Rachel designed the placement of the instruments based on a traditional orchestra layout. In the left corner, the strings section, a harp is evolving out of Coyote Brush. In the center, the Woodwinds and Brass Section, a french horn, a trombone, and a trumpet are emerging out of the Oak tree branches. In the other String Section, we see a Cello, with roots hanging from it’s base, being played by a Maple tree. Metallic gold paint will highlight the key features of the piece, adding richness and firery reflection to the artwork.
To further embrace the Conejo Valley landscape, Rachel incorporated the Mount Boney skyline into her design. For the majority of her design, Rachel used plants native to the Southern California area; such as the golden poppies that are dispersed throughout the foreground. However, Rachel also included red rose bushes, to represent the beautiful bouquets performers receive after shows.
The mural design is not merely whimsical, it was also designed with practical sensibility. For example, in the design that incorporates both ‘west walls’, Rachel utilizes an oak tree to cover the pillar, and unite the two halves of the design. The tree will also be painted black to camouflage the black pipe on the left ‘west wall’.
xx,
Rachel Estrada
Tavi
Heres a little drawing I just finished of Tavi Gevinson; the now 15 year old fashion blogger who exploded on the scene when she was just eleven years old. I found this photo (below) when I first discovered her blog, the Style Rookie, a few months ago, and - as with all blogs I immediately fall in love with - I couldn't stop myself from clicking 'next post' until I reached the very first page. The photos below are the drawing inspiration, and screen shots of the progression of the drawing. I love how these photos display how a little eyeliner, and white highlights on her brow bones can completely alter the mood of a drawing, and make it 'complete'. I had a lot of fun working on this project. It was one of my first times testing out the capabilities of my new imac and photoshop CS5. I used my Wacom drawing talet and a photoshop brush that mirrored pastels on paper. I absolutely love the brush and the realism it created. It was also fun discovering the differences of computer drawing and working on actual paper. I found myself habitually wiping my hand in between drawing strokes to get pastel residue off the side of my hand, but the great thing about drawing on the computer is you never get messy! Or have the opportunity to smudge your paper! Drawing on the computer is often so much more fun then paper drawing because in someways its easier. Not in the sense that it's easier to draw, but in the sense that there is an undue button and you have so much control over what your doing. You can easily make her blush lighter or darker by changing the opacity, or brighten the colors of the entire piece; a task that would make you nearly have to start from scratch in real life drawing. However, even though I love the ease of computer art, the current piece I'm working on is on, no 'undo', no 'backspace', no 'delete layer' or 'increase saturation', normal -- paper. Your entirely accountable, you know every stroke you make and every drop of paint, is permanent. And in some ways that makes it so much better, and when you look at your finished piece, you know you used no more then the materials that the masters of art have been using for hundreds of years, and if it still looks good, you know your true worth as an artist. Anyways! Enjoy these shots and click on the images to enlarge, that way you can see the dozens of colors I put into the piece, and the subtle movement of each stroke - Enjoy!
X
Rachel
Pretty in Pink
Following my previous bridal post,
I thought I'd share a few photos of my beautiful sister and her fiance!
I did this mini photo shoot of them before they ran off to a formal benefit
The dress is Betsey Johnson (borrowed from me, I still haven't had a chance to wear it yet!)
and I put a hot pink flower from our garden in her hair just before she left
I love the story told in the shots,
-the kiss, the realization that they just did that kiss in front of our parents, and then the,
oh well, for the sake of photography, part two!
...rightttt
Enjoy the shots, and I'll post a shot of her gorgeous Tiffany's engagement ring soon!
♥
R
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Hurricane
"I wanted so badly to lie down next to her... Just sleep together, in the most innocent sense of the phrase ... But I lacked the courage and ... I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating, So I walked back to my room thinking that if people were rain,
I was drizzle &
she was a hurricane"
-John Green, Looking For Alaska
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Cinco de Drinco
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! I thought I'd celebrate by posting a painting I did recently of a baby Patron bottle. When I saw this bottle in the market it was just too adorable to resist, I had to get it (and a few more mini tequila bottles!). But this bottle was my absolute favorite, I loved the old world looking cork, the shape of the glass, and the silver metallic label. Being an avid Alice in Wonderland fan, I had the idea to modernize the 'drink me' bottle Alice finds at the bottom of the well and I made a matching 'drink me' for my baby patron bottle. The painting is oil on canvas and the original is roughly 11 x 14 inches. It was my first attempt at a photo realistic style, and I based the imagery on a photo I took at my school photography studio. The orignal photo is fantastic as well, but I love the fantasy, vintage flare the painting has. Prints are available upon request, and tell me what you think!
"The two best things in life are FRIENDS and TEQUILA, and the best memories usually involve both"
xx,
Rachel Lynne
xx,
Rachel Lynne
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Origami
Below is the amazing colaboration between artist/print maker,Amrei Hofstätter, and fashion designer, Manish Arora. Hofstätter designed the stunning, colorful prints and Arora morphed them into fashion art pieces. This innovative collection just graced the Paris Fall/Winter 2011/2012 fashion week. I just stumbled upon it via behance.com, a fantastic site for everything from fashion to djing. Arora designs for a woman who is "part gypsy and part new age style icon", and who doesn't want to fit into that category! Arora's strength is his use of elaborate hand embroidering and embelishments. I know these pieces look even more fantastic in person, as witnessed by the beautiful close up shots below. I've also added a video of the fashion show, which you MUST check out, if not just the opening act. I won't give it away but Arora deffinetly knows an EPIC way to start a show, and set the excitement for the stage. Enjoy! Hope everyones having a great weekend!
X
Rachel
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Photo credit: behance network
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