Queen Victoria Watercolor Sketch

I was so excited to watch the second season debut of the Masterpiece series Victoria on PBS this past Sunday.  It really brings history to life!  I'm intrigued by historical shows and books.  I always wonder how people conducted their daily lives in the past.  Of course one of my favorite things to see is the fashion from this Victorian era.  What a lot of research the costume designer, Rosalind Ebbut, must have done to come up with such exquisite designs.  

And to think that a monarch who reigned over an empire was so tiny. It is said Queen Victoria was only four feet eleven.  In this production of Victoria, the queen is portrayed beautifully by the petite Jenna Coleman, who I loved from the Doctor Who series.

Here is a watercolor sketch I did of Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria.  I added a little acrylic paint on top of the watercolor for some details.  Do you like my really expensive blue paper plate palette that I used for the acrylic paint?  I must admit that trying to clean up dried up acrylic paint off a palette drives me a little bonkers, so to avoid that frustration I just use something disposable.  

I am so looking forward to Sunday for the second episode in this lavish series!  I hear that some of Yorkshire's most famous stately homes such as Castle Howard and Bramham Park stand in for the royal residences of Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle.  I'll have to pay special attention to that next time.

New York Fashion Week Sketch

I'm having so much fun following New York Fashion Week!  It's so exciting to see all the new collections.  I just had to sketch this unique dress from Alexander Wang's Spring 2018 collection.  It brings a whole new meaning to a "shirt dress"!

Unfortunately, not all of us have the budget to buy something that graces the runway at New York Fashion Week.  Maybe try Women's Dresses for a more wallet friendly option at sprucing up your wardrobe.

Watercolor Sketch Portrait

The other night I wanted to do an exercise in loosening up.  Sometimes I have a tendency to tighten up my paintings when I know they are for a commission, or are going to be for sale.  I want them to be perfect, and there is always a time crunch, so I don't want to make a mistake and have to start over.  But in thinking this way, I can lose some life, spontaneity or some happy accidents in the artwork.  Plus, when you are working with really expensive watercolor paper, you don't want to ruin it.  Also, I usually need to work on smaller paper, so it will fit in my scanner.  Working small automatically makes me slow down and be more detailed.

So this night, I decided to just do a loose sketch on some inexpensive larger (14in x 17in) sketch paper.   Not for sale or a commission, just for fun.  Although I started this out simply as a pencil sketch, and this paper is not meant for watercolor, I ended up adding watercolor anyway.  It was a lot of fun, and accomplished my goal of loosening up!

  

From London to Paris -Fashion Illustration

I've had these paintings in my mind and on the back burner for some time.  I finally got the chance to paint them.  I wanted to link some fashionable ladies with a soft focus minimal city scape in the background.  It was hard to narrow down which cities and which fashions I would do first.  

This London City Girl Print wears a mini plaid raincoat with tall black boots.  She's got a pop of yellow in her ensemble to keep her cheerful in all weather. And she has a bit of a 1960's retro feel.

This Paris City Girl Print is effortlessly elegant and chic in her polka dot black blouse, navy skirt, and french twist.  Are those roses bound to decorate her home or office?

I don't know what city will be next.  Could it be Tokyo, Rome, or New York?