Julia Denos's Blog, page 8
August 30, 2011
Royals
My recent travels through time and lineage (working on the family genealogy again) has brought me so much fresh material for new characters! Last month I wandered the lives of the royals, after I traced one little line (aided by research collected by my aunt and uncle) to my 9th great grandfather, Charles II (making my 10th great grandmother, this lady and my 11th great grandmother this lady).I've read that thousands of folks are linked to Charles II which fascinates me...we're ALL family really, and the events we've all learned about in history class are more personal than we can even imagine...
August 25, 2011
Wild!
Spent the weekend in the majesty of Maine...
with this talented-bride to-be and some adventurous ladies, and one VERY uninvited lady named Irene (boo), who we met HEAD ON while we drove through to get back into the city....did you get an Irene visit too? Hope you are safe and all is well, East Coasters!!
with this talented-bride to-be and some adventurous ladies, and one VERY uninvited lady named Irene (boo), who we met HEAD ON while we drove through to get back into the city....did you get an Irene visit too? Hope you are safe and all is well, East Coasters!!
August 22, 2011
Shoes, News, Reviews!
SHOES:
Dearest Jama Rattigan has featured and reviewed Dress over on her blog. Boni and I are interviewed on our favorite wearables (mine are shoe-centric, hers are adorable!)...Click here to read.
NEWS:
Just in: I Had a Favorite Dress will be stocked at Anthropologie!
Dress has also made it into this year's Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators, along with Just Being Audrey, and more art from this year's crop of picture books. Love and thanks to the jury! If you are in the NYC area this fall, take a peek, more info here.
REVIEWS:
Publisher's Weekly called Dress "Tailor-made, so to speak, for the Etsy generation of DIY enthusiasts." I really hope readers get crafty after reading this book. Reuse, resourcefulness, and reinvention! More reviews here: Thanks, PW. And thank you, Kirkus. Merci, Wall Street Journal. Et merci beaucoup, Jana!
Dearest Jama Rattigan has featured and reviewed Dress over on her blog. Boni and I are interviewed on our favorite wearables (mine are shoe-centric, hers are adorable!)...Click here to read.
NEWS:
Just in: I Had a Favorite Dress will be stocked at Anthropologie!
Dress has also made it into this year's Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators, along with Just Being Audrey, and more art from this year's crop of picture books. Love and thanks to the jury! If you are in the NYC area this fall, take a peek, more info here.
REVIEWS:
Publisher's Weekly called Dress "Tailor-made, so to speak, for the Etsy generation of DIY enthusiasts." I really hope readers get crafty after reading this book. Reuse, resourcefulness, and reinvention! More reviews here: Thanks, PW. And thank you, Kirkus. Merci, Wall Street Journal. Et merci beaucoup, Jana!
A little break
As many projects come to conclusion all at once, the studio has become a busy tumbleweed world! Even in the MOST busy times, it's important to get away, even for a little bit. Just long enough for a quick tea party last week:
(thanks to talented illustrator friend, Ellen!)
and urban seal spying:
Amanda captures his reflection, he's such a little ghost!
Seal belly!
(Thanks to illustrator lady, Amanda for the pics!)
I couldn't help but think of the "selkie" story, when one of the seals swam close and looked at us with those eerie deep brown eyes...This beautiful movie, one of my ALL time favorites, tells the selkie tale so well:
Back to work!
(thanks to talented illustrator friend, Ellen!)
and urban seal spying:
Amanda captures his reflection, he's such a little ghost!
Seal belly!
(Thanks to illustrator lady, Amanda for the pics!)I couldn't help but think of the "selkie" story, when one of the seals swam close and looked at us with those eerie deep brown eyes...This beautiful movie, one of my ALL time favorites, tells the selkie tale so well:
Back to work!
August 15, 2011
Real-Life-Rose
Came in last night from a quick trip out of state and found a little message and a link waiting in the inbox. It made me SMILE :) ...
images via Maia and Q's blog UneEnvie
I recently met Q's artist mom, Maia over email, when she needed a custom print of my "Crime Pays" Rose Casson sketch for her daughter "Q": apparently, Q is a completely real-life Rose Casson! (I completely agree after visiting her blog) They are an enchanting pair of mother daughter creatives, check out Maia's work here & here. How sweet are Q's little pink dresses???
Big hugs and keep up the drawing, Q!! Thanks a billion ♥
images via Maia and Q's blog UneEnvie
I recently met Q's artist mom, Maia over email, when she needed a custom print of my "Crime Pays" Rose Casson sketch for her daughter "Q": apparently, Q is a completely real-life Rose Casson! (I completely agree after visiting her blog) They are an enchanting pair of mother daughter creatives, check out Maia's work here & here. How sweet are Q's little pink dresses???Big hugs and keep up the drawing, Q!! Thanks a billion ♥
August 10, 2011
Sketchlady
I wish I could share some of what I'm working on now, but it's mostly under wraps! So here's a heavy-lidded woman, (named Helen), who sketched herself out in a few minutes in between jobs. I've also added her to the shop here. Wonder what her story is...
August 7, 2011
New + Old
This weekend was full of NEW + OLD, with a backdrop of coastal Quincy rain (the light tapping kind) and a visit from my parents up from Connecticut. We cooked our first brunch for guests in our new house, on new china, on a new table. Thankfully, our conversation topics spanned the comfy old Denos favorites though: technology, Star Trek, poetry, recipes, family history and ghosts (the usual) and I even got a piece of my past from way down south, a copied picture (thanks, Aunt RB!):
This is my great-grandma, Pocca's mother: "Mama Roe"(Ruth Bailey Munroe)
When I was little, I used to stare at this photo in amazement, imagining she was a movie star from the old-fashioned days. The rusty stains that happened decades ago resulted in starry confetti falling around her. It adds unintentional dreaminess that I've always loved. Her face still inspires me...
August 3, 2011
Giveaway Winner
Holy cannoli! Thank you friends for the support and sweet comments! Since my old fashioned hat went missing, I picked from a colander (because it could be a hat!) at the stroke of 12:
and the winner is: Amanda Williams
(This illustrator/vintage shop lady runs her own crafty blog here) Congratulations and thank you!
And if you'd still like some little dresses, the 15% discount remains through the end of this birthday week on everything in my SHOP, with the discount code: DRESS
Much love!!
SNIP SNIP SEW SEW...
(Interior from I Had A Favorite Dress, by Boni Ashburn, published by Abrams)
(My favorite green shoes via the Artifaktori shop)
and the winner is: Amanda Williams
(This illustrator/vintage shop lady runs her own crafty blog here) Congratulations and thank you!
And if you'd still like some little dresses, the 15% discount remains through the end of this birthday week on everything in my SHOP, with the discount code: DRESSMuch love!!
SNIP SNIP SEW SEW...
(Interior from I Had A Favorite Dress, by Boni Ashburn, published by Abrams)(My favorite green shoes via the Artifaktori shop)
July 30, 2011
Book Birthday Giveaway+ New Print!
Today is the release of I Had A Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn!
First! Let's have some cake:
Book Birthday Giveaway!
Win a copy of I Had a Favorite Dress and a print of "Little Dresses" You can enter to win by simply commenting on this blog post or on the Facebook blog post. Winner will be picked Friday out of a very old fashioned hat at the stroke of midnight.
NEW PRINT in The Shop:
"Little Dresses"
Available here
"Little Dresses" is a lovely archival print on velvety Arches Velin museum rag. It's an 8.5 x 11 page filled with the prettiest and tiniest dresses (and a pair of cowboy boots) from my sketchbook and the pages of I Had a Favorite Dress. Many can be spotted in the book, and of course, the favoritest dress is included too.
Birthday SALE At The Shop!
For book birthday week there is a 15% discount on all my art prints and products with the discount code: DRESS. Click here to shop.
Thank you friends for all the kind words, support and ♥!
(The book is available wherever books are sold, don't forget your indie bookstore !)
First! Let's have some cake:
Book Birthday Giveaway!
Win a copy of I Had a Favorite Dress and a print of "Little Dresses" You can enter to win by simply commenting on this blog post or on the Facebook blog post. Winner will be picked Friday out of a very old fashioned hat at the stroke of midnight.
NEW PRINT in The Shop:
"Little Dresses"
Available here"Little Dresses" is a lovely archival print on velvety Arches Velin museum rag. It's an 8.5 x 11 page filled with the prettiest and tiniest dresses (and a pair of cowboy boots) from my sketchbook and the pages of I Had a Favorite Dress. Many can be spotted in the book, and of course, the favoritest dress is included too.
Birthday SALE At The Shop!
For book birthday week there is a 15% discount on all my art prints and products with the discount code: DRESS. Click here to shop.
Thank you friends for all the kind words, support and ♥!(The book is available wherever books are sold, don't forget your indie bookstore !)
July 28, 2011
Behind the Scenes: I Had a Favorite Dress
I Had a Favorite Dress hits shelves this Monday, so I thought I'd show you some studio shots and process work:
Boni Ashburn wrote a lovely story with a very fun cadence to it. Right from the get-go it made me feeling like dancing, I wanted the text to dance, and I wanted the art to dance...(I'm not gonna lie, I had a sweet summer soundtrack consisting of Animal Collective /jazz blasting, so I did a lot of dancing around). Boni's words, "SNIP SNIP, SEW SEW" helped me feel playful enough to want to cut up, collage, get messy. I thought: wouldn't it be fun to stitch the title page by hand? So I did:
It ended up a little bloody (see capital "D!") since I'm not a seamstress of any sort, but I handed it in anyhow (thanks, Photoshop). I spent my weeks in a blissful world of little dresses, buttons, city scapes, and thread...
Cover sketch on the light box:
Fall leaves to be cut out for the school scene:
Snowflakes for the winter scene:
Tree tops in the fall:
Tracing days of the week by night light:
All the little dress components, ready to be scanned:
A very SERIOUS struggle to find the right pink:
EEEE! Tiny dresses! I love my job!
Chad helped turn these thumbnails into something that made sense:
There is always that initial image you see after shutting your eyes and you've let a manuscript whisper through your mind. For this book, it was a little window on the first floor of a brownstone, with a blossoming tree nearby. As I looked in the window from the sidewalk, I watched a little girl prance to her mother in her FAVORITEST dress for an embrace. I tried my best to stay true to that glimpse for the duration of the work, and expand the world from that little window...
The characters and urban settings came right along with the story for me, right from the moment I read it. The city itself is an amalgamation of New York and Boston. My go-to painting soundtracks (supplemented by Animal Collective, and Jonsi) on this book were jazz guitar/piano albums by:
Django Reinhardt / Marian McPartland
Admiring thank yous to author Boni Ashburn, and to the excellent people at Abrams, especially Laura Mihalick in marketing, editor Maggie Lehrman, creative director+designer Chad Beckerman (for working through so many fixes and edits that our final art file came to be called "FOR CHAD_DRESS_FINAL_INFINITY")
See you again Monday for a BOOK BIRTHDAY!
Boni Ashburn wrote a lovely story with a very fun cadence to it. Right from the get-go it made me feeling like dancing, I wanted the text to dance, and I wanted the art to dance...(I'm not gonna lie, I had a sweet summer soundtrack consisting of Animal Collective /jazz blasting, so I did a lot of dancing around). Boni's words, "SNIP SNIP, SEW SEW" helped me feel playful enough to want to cut up, collage, get messy. I thought: wouldn't it be fun to stitch the title page by hand? So I did:
It ended up a little bloody (see capital "D!") since I'm not a seamstress of any sort, but I handed it in anyhow (thanks, Photoshop). I spent my weeks in a blissful world of little dresses, buttons, city scapes, and thread...
Cover sketch on the light box:
Fall leaves to be cut out for the school scene:
Snowflakes for the winter scene:
Tree tops in the fall:
Tracing days of the week by night light:
All the little dress components, ready to be scanned:
A very SERIOUS struggle to find the right pink:
EEEE! Tiny dresses! I love my job!
Chad helped turn these thumbnails into something that made sense:
There is always that initial image you see after shutting your eyes and you've let a manuscript whisper through your mind. For this book, it was a little window on the first floor of a brownstone, with a blossoming tree nearby. As I looked in the window from the sidewalk, I watched a little girl prance to her mother in her FAVORITEST dress for an embrace. I tried my best to stay true to that glimpse for the duration of the work, and expand the world from that little window...
The characters and urban settings came right along with the story for me, right from the moment I read it. The city itself is an amalgamation of New York and Boston. My go-to painting soundtracks (supplemented by Animal Collective, and Jonsi) on this book were jazz guitar/piano albums by:
Django Reinhardt / Marian McPartlandAdmiring thank yous to author Boni Ashburn, and to the excellent people at Abrams, especially Laura Mihalick in marketing, editor Maggie Lehrman, creative director+designer Chad Beckerman (for working through so many fixes and edits that our final art file came to be called "FOR CHAD_DRESS_FINAL_INFINITY")
See you again Monday for a BOOK BIRTHDAY!
