art + illustration + inspiration

Lanvin x H&M = Love

by on Nov 16, 2010 (0) Comments

Speaking of things made with love… I’ve perhaps never declared as much affection for any fashion label or designer than Lanvin or Alber Elbaz. For this reason, I’ve decided to start making illustrations/paintings inspired by Lanvin couture–including items from the much-anticipated Lanvin x H&M collaboration! (You’ll notice the artwork creeping into this blog, little by little…)

For now, let’s talk about the collaboration–and I like what they’ve done with the H&M website (all images in this post, directly from www.hm.com)…

I can just imagine how long the lines will be this November 23, when the collection officially hits stores worldwide! Here are a couple of outfits I’d really go for (plus the first one in this post), if I had all the time, money and patience to queue up in Hong Kong…

I’ll never know if I’ll ever own a piece of the dream, so here’s throwing some of my wishes to the wind, and hoping they come true in Paris!

Bright light

by on Nov 16, 2010 (2) Comments

Last night, I dropped by Möbler along Wilson Street, Greenhills (one of my most favorite homey places in the world), and bought this beauty of a desk lamp. I love IKEA products and I only wish that, with more and more international brands making their way to our shores (Muji as of late), someone finally manages to bring home this Swedish giant. But for now, I’m happy there already are accessible local IKEA resellers.

This is a Forså lamp which came in two chic finishes–stainless steel and shiny black. I had some difficulty deciding until B pointed out that the black one was more my style (he was right, since silver was a tad too industrial). Now if there were a cream or eggshell-white version, I would have been twice as torn…

Right now I only wish it had a dimmer switch–I’m obviously not that used to such bright light on my workspace! Haha. But otherwise it’s perfect. Lovely style, sturdy materials at a lovely price!

My style

by on Nov 15, 2010 (0) Comments

Finding my own voice and style, fashion and illustration-wise, has been a long personal journey.

But it really all came together just a few years ago when I embarked on a short-lived (albeit immensely fulfilling and adventure-filled) career in media and publishing. I was not only exposed to so many beautiful things and possibilities, but I learned how to edit, style, and own a perspective. I’ve had a lot of influences throughout this journey, with everything culminating into who I am today.

P.S. I am in love with my new Lumix GF1. I’ve decided to call her Lenka. She just turned one week old!

Lanvin love

by on Nov 14, 2010 (0) Comments

Because I might never be able to own a piece of the dream… Or maybe I will?

Behind the balloons

by on Nov 03, 2010 (0) Comments

A blogger friend recently asked me a few things about my most recent project… And since I haven’t shared anything about how “Inflated Dreams” came to be, here are snippets from that Q&A!

What inspired your first exhibit collection: “Inflated Dreams”?

“For several months now, I’ve had this obsession and fascination with balloons–how airy, light, and perfectly round they were. I was inspired by a lot of wedding videos, movies and ads that had balloons in them. When Heima asked if I wanted to collaborate with them for their new collection, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to bring this vision to life.

This balloon corner made for great photo-ops during the event!

“I began thinking of very out-of-this-world scenarios with balloons in them. ‘Tread Lightly’ was the first image that inspired the rest, which I rendered with the style I do best–very feminine, dreamy, muted hues, but with an element of edge and mystery. My work always combines hard and soft elements–like realistic against whimsical aspects–because the irony itself lends interest. So while these pieces appear soft and feminine at first, there is a hint of mystery and intrigue.

“But I guess what attracted me to these balloons in the first place is the nice, happy, light feelings they give. As a whole, ‘Inflated Dreams’ is a little reminder for how we should live our lives… To simply let go and not worry about the nitty-gritties today which won’t really matter tomorrow.

Everything in Heima is just that...

“Finally, I wanted to imbibe the spirit of Heima in this series. Heima really is all about things made with love, inspiration, happiness, and whimsy–in fact, it’s been my happy place for nearly two years now!”

What particular medium do you love working with? Why? What types of media did you use for “Inflated Dreams”?

“I love working with pencils and watercolors. Pencil–not only because it was the first thing I worked with as a kid, but I really love the kind of control and precision I can have over the medium (I can go really soft and delicate, or hard and edgy with it), plus of course I can erase mistakes! As for watercolor–I love how fluid yet challenging it is at the same time. Both these media give off a very natural and organic feel, too, so I used them for ‘Inflated Dreams.’”