Hello. Now it is September and time to hit the books – sketchbooks, that is. I’m happy to report I kept regular sketchbook activity happening this summer, and now I plan to document a few of the projects finished, those underway, and the people I’ve met because of it.
One of my favourite connections on Instagram has been with a business in Morrisville, N.Y. called Hedgerow General. This is a mother & daughter team, with a wonderful family focus in the bringing forth of their shop and online business. They sell fabulous office and homegoods, personal care and gift items, as well as vintage and handmade goods. Owner Andrea Wickert was featured in UPPERCASE magazine’s colour issue #22 this summer – showing pieces from her collection of vintage colour charts.
I won a copy of #22 from Hedgerow General, and when the package arrived it was full of gifts to play with! I was overwhelmed and excited. There were Palomino Blackwing pencils, coloured pencils, chalk pastels, and delicious crayons. I decided to try a colourful illustration, using the brighter hues I’m not so familiar with {Colour Pie, above}.
The image was fun to do, but I wanted to do another one right away using what I call “my colour palette” – featured perfectly in another gift from Hedgerow General – a vintage paint chart pamphlet. I used my love of words too, pulling out my Letraset collection, my collage scissors, and newspaper bits. The UPPERCASE issue features an article on synesthesia, a neurological condition of simultaneous perception of senses – seeing colour with specific letters, for example. I find this fascinating and believe it is why Nabokov’s writing is so magical – he was a synesthete {Sound Scribbler, above}.
Another favourite connection on Instagram has been with Anna Gunn and Filipe Martins of McGunn Media in Porto, Portugal. We’ve talked light, sound, music, film, art, food…you name it. Anna creates visual poems – maybe Haikus – on her Instagram gallery. I find them magical, and they get my mind whirring. She sent me a gift too! Pieces from her Owl&Pussycat illustration, which I then turned into an illustration, drawing from her work as a photographer (film strip hair curls), being a glider pilot, and talking about evolutions of the self {Anna Gunn, above}.
This outburst of creativity begat all sorts of ideas – I love doing portraits of people, using my own takes on their interests & imagery. My first Instagram enthusiast, Erin Elliott, writer and Communications Director at Station Gallery in Whitby, ON, suggested two books to me: Christian Bok’s book of poems, Eunoia, and Business Model Generation (because I told her I needed to work on a business plan, but that’s another post). I went nuts over Eunoia (my business canvas remains untouched), and I have another illustration under way – of Erin, and letters, and her lovely feline proofreader, Charlie.
I have also started a portrait of Andrea Wickert, to come full circle back to Hedgerow General. This image above is from the article in UPPERCASE that her antique colour cards illustrated (article written by Correy Baldwin). Hedgerow also provided a free desktop wallpaper download of a Bourgeois Ainé Paris antique colour card. Ah, I love it!
This is the Instagram post from Hedgerow General that made me fall in love with them – a #wesandersongram entry for #boat featuring a whale print by Jen Lobo (beautiful work!) and dynamic perspective.
And, lo and behold….I have been blogged about. Hedgerow General posted about me last week! Thank you so much, Andrea, and also Anna & Filipe, and Erin – the imagery continues….
{final illustration images on my updated illustration page}