If you’ve been following my work for some time now, you already know how much I love doing portraits of beautiful women–and how I love referencing foreign models. I’ve always wanted to do a portrait of Russian model Sasha Pivovarova, because of how young and innocent she looks, and how she stands out in the sea of anonymous-looking models. (Plus, I just only recently discovered that she’s an artist/illustrator herself! How cool is that?)

As with most of my portrait work, capturing Sasha’s likeness alone took me hours of sketching, erasing, and tweaking! There comes a point when I feel like I’ll never get the subject’s face right–that crucial five-second pause where I decide to either keep going or start from scratch. But most of the time, I find myself facing the enemy head-on, and persevering to finish what I’d started. I hope I get better over time!

I was surprised this piece took a slightly haunting, gothic turn. It still has that romantic feel, but darker. This is officially the first piece I’ve finished for my upcoming exhibit, and I’m so excited to see how everything turns out!

Meet Hunny–our adorable Heima plush bunny! Here he is sitting atop my bookshelf…

While I love how so plump and full of character he is, I also love that he’s hand-made locally, by the obviously talented folks at Monsterella Plush Art. Reading the info sheet that came with him, I’m delighted to find out he’s made of high-grade wool and felt materials. The stitching is amazing, too!

B and I got him at last weekend’s Heima Collection 3.0 launch, entitled “Life is a Party!” (You can check out the complete set of photos here.) As always, it was difficult not to get drawn into (or lost in) every little nook and corner. This time around, I was especially drawn to all the muted pinks, lilacs and greys in the collection–plus their new and exciting Paper Club, which speaks to me, just because I’m such a huge papyvore (is that even a word? Haha)!

Hello, friends! I’m happy to be finally posting about this! I apologize for the delay… But as I promised, here are the scans of my biggest project to date! (And I mean BIG, because the actual artwork measures around 30″ x 16″!)

A few months ago, the folks at Kérastase (L’Oréal Philippines) commissioned me to design a limited-edition silkscreened tote bag that reflected the essence of the brand. I was given a free hand in interpreting this through a subtle yet feminine illustration. I’m a huge fan of Kérastase hair products, so I instantly knew how to create something that was both subtle yet stylish.

I named this piece “Dream Sequence,” and for me, it expresses what Kérastase is: beauty, luxury and elegance, brought to life in subtle, romantic themes, whimsical shapes and soft, feminine forms. (The focal point, of course, are the strands of flowy, flowy hair–and ribbons!–everywhere!)

Due to time constraints, I had to finish this piece in under a day! I thought it wasn’t possible, and I had to contend with a near-sleepless night… But I was determined to make this work, and I was just too excited for the outcome to give up. Here’s the artwork in its entirety…

…And here is a shot of the bag! The colors turned out more orange and nude-y compared to the artwork, but, no matter. It’s my first official collaborative “designer” item, and I’m so grateful and happy!

Each bag comes free when you avail of a treatment from the salon. I’m not sure which Kérastase salons in Manila are still actively doing this promotion, but be sure to ask your stylist when you drop by yours!

First things first–a Happy New Year (and Happy Lunar New Year) to everyone!

I just got back from blogging hiatus, and I’d like to share the biggest (and most fun) project I had in 2010, a collaboration I am still so happy about to this day! (I mentioned this collab in a previous post.) Here is Heima‘s Collection 2.0 catalog, which I art directed in October last year!

The first image up there is the main cover; this next one is the spread right behind it…

Which then opens up to this…

And right behind it, this dollhouse-inspired layout that doubles as a pretty poster!

The catalog launched in November last year. I absolutely love how it turned out!

I just love surprises! Last week, Heima informed me that someone already made a downpayment for one of my prints! YAY!

Specifically, it was for “Tread Lightly”–which is really the central image for “Inflated Dreams.” (See the full collection here!)

They told me it was going to be a surprise gift for someone, who as yet I won’t reveal–but this much I know, we used to go to the same college and she’s a popular contributor for various feature/lifestyle broadsheet titles (I’m not sure if she’s still actively working in media, though). I super duper hope she loves this (and writes about me! Hee)!

A huge shoutout to Tita Ellen and the guys at OneWorkshop for such a great job!!! You guys make my artwork look awesomer!