Roll Cameras and...Action!!

Hi Guys!

I am sooooo excited here!

I have been planning to record videos for a while now, but if you know me, you'll know I want to have it as perfect as possible. Meaning, a fun intro, speed up painting process with voice-over and music...etc. Well, with my current schedule, I never seemed to have the time to record something. So two days ago, I was staring at a sketch and thought "you know what...the sun is shining (no need to set up with extra light) and I'm just going to record! If it's okay, then I'll upload it, if not, well at least I tried and I'll record something else later."...so that's exactly what I did and it went okay! When I looked at it I was "Ohhh I did that!!!" and I didn't feel like "Nooooo I don't want to upload this!" haha. I am so pleased to show the first of many videos that I'll be creating for you guys.

There's no voice-over or rambling intro just yet, but will have this with other videos though. Sometimes I just need to let my need to have everything TOO perfect go and just go with the flow and the time I have (will publish a column soon about my  thoughts on this.). So without rambling too much...click on the video below and check out how she's created. It's not your usual happy TJ painting though haha.

Feel free to share the video with everyone who might love to see it. It's a new adventure for me and I'm so curious what you guys think of it! So do start rambling if you have something to share. ^_^

Enjoy your weekend!

TJ's Giveaway: And the Winners are...

Hi Everyone!

Say CHEEESE!!

I shall keep this post short and simple and go straight to announcing the winners. So what I did was the following...I threw your names on my drawing desk (couldn't find my Magic Hat -_-) and these were the ones that I picked out:

Ms. Nicola Ellen

Ms. Maylin Gonzalez

Mr. Dailybeerreview

Ms. Dani Heart

Ms. Katy Kern

Congratulations!!! *throws around with confetti and ribbons* I'll be contacting you in the upcoming days. To everyone else, please do NOT be disappointed. There will be a new giveaway very soon as an important date is approaching (my...birthday.) and I always do a giveaway to celebrate this with you all. I am already pondering about the price! ^_^

As for the questions, I replied to most questions in the comment section. However, some questions do deserve their own post, so stay tuned for that. I will be tagging you on Facebook, Twitter or send an email if I answered your question in a post, so you will know when it's...well answered hehe.

This is it for now. I think my next post is going to be either a new commission post (got a few lined up for you all to stare at!) or a rambling post...got lots of stuff in my draft folder for you.

Enjoy your Sunday!

*waves*

TJ's Giveaway: It's here! It's finally here! (closed)

GIVEAWAY is closed! ^_^

Finally.

The Giveaway arrived. Did you hear my dramatic voice? I totally did a dramatic voice.

It's funny. I decided to do a giveaway when my page on facebook would hit 300 likes. Now I'm already at 459 likes and for this big increase a HUGE thank you goes to the lovely Carmen from "Paying it Forward - One Day at the Time"...every time when she shared my page, quite a lot of happy souls found my page and I couldn't be more grateful. It only means I can share what I love to do most with even more people and I hope it will put a smile on their faces as well :D

As I was thinking about a lovely prize/prizes, time flew by and work got crazy busy and now...now I can also announce proudly that I entered my third year of blogging as well (June 14th, to be exact!). Goodness! Where did the time go? I'd never thought to be blogging for this long already and as each year passes, my blog gets a different purpose, well not an entirely different purpose as my Art has always been my biggest focus point. You won't see a post with without a doodle or two. However, blogging gave me a new perspective on life, a new way of living and doing what I love to. I learned how to write better posts, capture my thoughts, most importantly I got a better insight in myself as a person and what I really want to get out life. You could say that I'm aware of how I live my life and how I want to live my life...up till a while back, I basically took most things for granted and did things others expected me to do so....I should stop talking as you guys probably think "TEEEJAAAY!! I want to know about the giveaway!!"

You were, weren't you....? Oh my gosh!

Hehe. As always, if you want to join, do read everything and please follow the rules.

So what can you win this time? I won't have 1st, 2nd or 3rd winners, where the prizes go from big to small. No. Instead of this I have 5 sets of 2 prints and I will pick 5 winners! Obviously hehe. Oh. There will be an EXTRA surprise when one receives his/her package, but what this is....I am not going to tell ^_^.

The prints of the Inky Ladies with black frame can vary as I have 13 different ladies, but for picture purposes I grabbed a few random ones. Okay, so what do you have to do?

1. Leave a comment. It's as simple as that, but it is a MUST. Plus, I do have two questions this time. You do have to answer them please.

What would you do if you'd meet me in person?

and

Ask me a (random) question.

This could be anything from art to fashion/beauty (yes. you ladies can ask me e.g. about the make-up I wear, about my hair etc.) or you can ask my thoughts on a certain subject or just a totally random question. I'll  use these questions for future posts and it's a fun way to peek in your minds as well ;)

For EXTRA entries, you can do the following:
2. Be a Facebook Fan and/or a reader of my blog (either by Google reader or e-mail subscription) and you get 1 extra entry.
3. If you spread the word about my giveaway, Etsy shop or Fanpage, you'll get 1 extra entry.

Just remember to list ALL the things you did in your comment, along with your answers and if you'd prefer the Inky Ladies or the Cupcakes. The Giveaway is open till September 1st (2012 hehe) and then I'll announce the winners. I'll create a permanent link in the sidebar that leads to this post as it will vanish slowly into my blog past as I will add new posts, plus I'll add a little reminder in every new post as well.

That's it! I'm so excited to see your answers ^_^

Ciao!

TJ's WIP: Dragons, Dragons, Dragons.

Staring post for you todaaaaaay!

Just like my Floating Rapunzel one, I kept track of how I painted my header on my FB page (hmm I think I need to switch up the one on my blog as well soon!). I painted lots of line-ups during that time and I still have a few planned. I found it a good way for me to pick a subject and experiment with how I would draw e.g. unicorns and create a fun image that could be turned into possible print. There are so many things to be captured on paper that I sometimes don't even know where to start.

A few lined-ups that I created so far are for sale in my Etsy store as well. Sooo get your favorite while you can, because I'm not sure if I'll prints available.

Hmm what else can I tell you? Not much to add I think. I always have the same routine when I create my art. Research - sketching (lots of sketching) - final sketch - inking - painting - final details - scanning - minor editing - done! That's it! However, if you have a specific question, just leave it in your comment ^_^.

 

Not a whole lot of pictures this time I FOUND MORE hidden in a folder ^_^! I really like the dragons and the pictures are scattered on my FB page, so I figured adding it in on post would be easier haha.

Have a lovely day!!

Ciao!

TJ's Commissions: Mehndi, Glitter and Elephants

Can you recall me chatting about a bigger painting I did?

Well let me tell you a bit more ^_^ The painting got commissioned by the brother of one of my very lovely friends, Ms. Tricia aka Tershbango. The people who read my blog for a longer period of time know that my friendship with Tricia started with a doodle and...a Prince Charming. There are a few posts that you can have a peek at and I shall list them here if you want to have a trip down Memory Lane.

Chapter 1: Peeking into a Chrystal Disco Ball.

Chapter 2: They got Hitched and a secret collaboration between Mama Bird & me.

Bonus Chapter: Prince Charming is Preparing for Valentine's Day...in a somewhat unusual way.

I can't tell you how amazing it is to be a part of people's lives by doing illustration work for them. It truly is one of the best feelings in the world. And in this case I was present (in doodle spirit but still I was there!) at the weddings of Tricia AND her brother! Yes, you could only imagine my surprise and excited when Neil, Tricia's brother, contacted me for a wedding presents for his wife Reena. I got the free hand and the only requirements where to add their cats, their names/wedding date and the logo of Hell's Kitchen where he proposed to her.

So I got to work and I can share some peeks of what I did as they got the painting and it's already hanging proudly on their wall! The scene is a personal element that Neil did for Reena, he sang to her on their wedding day and it was a traditional Indian wedding. I could capture so many things, but eventually settled for this as for me it really captured something that was entirely of them. The singing, the Indian elements. The elephant which stands for loyalty, trust, strong foundation...all things you should have in a marriage. The border is Reena's actual henna tattoo (mehndi) that I re-drew and gave it a gold antique feel to it and of course, lots and lots of color and glitter and little details. But okay, the pictures! I added a bunch of pictures to my Flickr stream as it'd be easier to watch. Otherwise this post would be huge. You can click here to see it on Flickr or...click the slideshow below. Whatever you prefer.

That's it! What do you think? It was a bit of challenge as the painting is one of the biggest I ever done, but in the end after switching up my concept for a few times, I do like how it turned out and most importantly...Reena and Neil and their family loved it! Mission succeeded!

Neil & Reena...let me thank you again for this wonderful opportunity and for your patience (especially Reena hehe) and I wish you all the luck & happiness in the World!!

I do want to point out that if you want have something created for yourself or to give as gift, don't hesitate to contact me as soon as you can. It takes time to brainstorm and agree to a solid idea and if there's a deadline involved, a rush fee will be added as I have to push other commissions aside for a bit (a clone would be handy every now and then haha). So...you can simply email me with your idea(s) and a possible deadline, then we can go from there. I'll get back to you with more information and pricing as soon as I can. Payment in installments is possible if the price is on the higher side. E-mail - tjlubrano@gmail.com

Hope you liked the peeks and I'll be showing more commission peeks soon. I haven't really done this huh? No fear as I have a bunch lined up for you hehe.

Ciao!

Cupcake Randomness or not so Random?

Well Hello Everyone!

It has been a bit quiet here. I was planning to post something last week, but I got sick and well this put a halt to everything. I'm slowly getting back, but will take it easy for just a couple more days.

My mind took a trip on its own (well, many trips, but these are stories for another time) and started wondering something. How do you eat your cupcake? Yes. Cupcakes are involved again. Why do I want to know this? No real reason here. I'm just dragging you into my randomness (I'm doing a TOP SECRET Master Research on Cupcakes...*adjust glasses*). If you are completely confused by this question, let me help you out by giving you a few options…

1. Twist the bottom and place on the frosting for a sandwich cupcake. (side note: I read this method on the internet a few days back, apparently one gets a good frosting/cake ratio by doing this.)

2. Use a fork. 

3. Fork? Goodness no. I have a delicate procedure for this. First I bow, then I unwrap the cake, take tiny bites while both pinkies are stretched, search for crumbs and then fold the wrapping before I place it in the bin.

4. Stuff my face. Duh.

5. I...can not tell you.

Of course you can add your own option. You want to know what I do? Obviously stuffing my face when I’m outside and using a fork when I’m at home....

....maybe not hehe ^_^. As you can see...I got plenty of time to think while I was sick hehe.

With this uber important question I shall leave you to enjoy your Friday & weekend or you can stare blankly at a wall while you analyze the way you eat a cupcake OR come up with a interesting new way to eat a cupcake. Now that should be interesting to read haha.

Ciao Ciao!

TJ's Projects: A Sisters Collab.

Ciaoooo!

I shall tell a bit more about the collab between my sister Cilla and I! Come a bit closer please and make yourself comfortable...not THAT comfortable. Sheesh, how are you going to read if your face is pressed against the screen :|...

But okay, let's start. I mentioned a few posts back that my sister is a Fashion Lady and a Beauty Guru. She has her own Youtube channel where she chats about all things beauty related. If you love Beauty & Fashion and random silliness...please subscribe to her ^_^

So as she is into Fashion & Beauty ( I do love it as well, but on a different level than her I think) and I am into illustration, it made perfect sense to do a little collab! My sister loves to cut and pimp her shirts and I love off-shoulder shirts/sweaters, but very often the designs in the store aren't fun enough for me. So what better way to create our own?

So excited here! We will be creating a few original hand-painted shirts. I'll show you more peeks of what will eventually be created on the shirts, because at the moment I'm just drawing and creating lots of sketches. In the upcoming days Cilla and I will mix and match from my designs and I'll create the final design. Having a clean ink drawing shouldn't be too difficult to transfer on a shirt. It should be fun to see how this particular way of painting will go and how you guys will respond on it! Who knows where it will take us right? Plus, most of you know that I can't sit still and I already have a few other projects in mind after this hehe.

But okay, we got our paint and various of art material ready. The only element that was a bit tricky were the shirts. We want a small stock, around 20-30 shirts as it's just a side project, so we don't want to have like 100 of shirts. Several shirts will be for ourselves and we will put a few up for sale. It depends on the demand if there will be a second shirt project, but first things first! We have to survive this one hehe. So first I searched here and there on the web, but a lot of manufacturers sell from 100 shirts or more. Which make perfect sense from their point of view and for larger companies, but I am not a store (yet) so this is a no go for me. After a bit more searching, I thought I'd found a company where I could buy a small stock of shirts. After a bit of e-mailing the salesperson said that the shipping would be $120. This is a tad too expensive, considering the shirts would only be $108. Paying more for shipping than actual item is not smart. I did found a company in Holland, called Creativ Company, that sold 100% cotton white shirts for a fair price, but I still wasn't sure, so I turned to my friend Dean for some advice. After chatting with him and the fact I want a small stock, going for the company in Holland was the best deal for me. So I did that. Big Thanks again Dean!

Now I shall leave you and stare at some cupcakes hehe. Enjoy your week everyone! And before I go...my latest column is about...Secrets ^_^.

Ciao Ciao!

Sifting Through Thoughts and Papers pt. 1

(peeks from behind piles of paper)

Oh my goodness! I reached 400 readers :D So happy here! Thank you so much lovely people! You know, I wonder if I ever get out of this cleaning mode, but okay, I have a few small updates for you.

Canceled 2nd blog.
I chatted to a few friends and after some thinking I decided to cancel my 2nd blog and post my columns solemnly on Expats Post (more on this soon). I divide you guys a bit all over the place now and to be honest keeping track of all I do is a tad much at times. So my column will be published there and every now and then I shall post a reminder here. Of course everyone who has me on Facebook or Twitter will see the tweets and status updates twirling by.

To everyone who followed me there and not here, please keep an eye on it and switch to this one if you want to stay up to date ^_^.

New commission/shop policies
I re-wrote my commission and shop policies. The last one was focused on the mugs I created, but now I changed directions, so needed to change my policies. I highly advice you read them as I (hopefully) provide you with enough information on how I work, price calculation so you can decide whether you want to hire me or not. Prices are quite difficult to point out as I used to end up doing more work then planned and as much as I love creating, I have to be sensible and realistic with my time and pricing.

Do NOT be afraid to e-mail once you've read it all and still have questions though. I don't bite...hehe.

Shopping!
Don't forget that you can get my stuff at two places now: Etsy & Zazzle. I have a permanent tab and a widget in the sidebar for them. Zazzle is really for those who just want to order stuff without the hassle of contacting me. All products listed on Etsy have gone through my hands. I signed it, added extra details, wrap it up for you and fly to the post office. Also, original pieces will be listed on Etsy alone as well. Remember, I'll work with small stocks, so if prints/cards are gone, they are gone unless you guys keep asking for moooorrrreee! hehe.

NOTE: I've FINALLY ordered new prints of sketches and new art. These will arrive next week and will be added in my Etsy shop and I'll be doing a giveaway when I reach 300 likes on Facebook!!! Stay tuned for an update.

Random Rant: I dislike doing VAT and tax thingiessssss, but I have tooooooooo (head desk)

Column Post: My latest column is about Mirrors. Do have a peek if you're intrigued :D

Ciao Everyone!

It all started with...The Red Dress

Greeeeeeetings Everyone!

How are you doing? Preparing for the weekend? It really started to snow here and I have to say, it's a pretty sight, but where was it when I wanted a white Christmas?!? Ah well.

When I was reading (skimming) through the articles on my Google Reader a few days back, I came across an article by Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess. I always read her posts, which are hilarious, honest, inappropriate and straight to the point. It's really peeking inside her mind and I love it! The Bloggess, initiated the The Traveling Red Dress movement in 2010 and picked it up again a while ago with the The Traveling Red Dress - revisited. Her story is inspiring to say the least and her story inspired many others to share theirs as well. Just have a read please ^_^. And yes, to state the obvious, it started with a Red Dress. It's bold and daring and well...I mean how often can one wear a big red dress other than if you had a costume party or something? I do not have a big red dress...so I painted one!

Claire...I'll show the ones with flowery petals another time! 

Couldn't get it right when I started painting hehe. 

No matter who you are or what you do, every girl has a Little Diva inside of her. And I'm not talking about a lady in haute couture loaded with jewelry and an attitude...no. I'm talking about a side that knows she deserves nothing more than the best. A side that knows she is beautiful and loving no matter how she looks like. A side that accepts her flaws and isn't afraid to be who she really is.

...this side often hides though. Responsibilities, disapproving looks and words can be a pain in the ass you know.

So in short, the Red Dress has become a metaphor for the fact that everyone should have their moment. That moment where they can fully embrace who they are without being judged. And it doesn't matter if it's silly or weird or not sensible...if it makes you happy...what more could you ask for? Simplicity at its best right? So eat that cookie if you want one, roll in the grass if you feel like it, wear those earrings if it makes you feel beautiful, wear bright eye shadow if it makes you feel colorful and happy. I could go on and on, but the point is that you don't forget who you are and share a bit of your own sunshine with the world. A lot of people hide behind their own clouds already anyway.

I visited the Facebook Page and all those little comments just made me happy. So many people are offering red dresses and/or photography skills just to make someone else happy and give them their moment of Fabulousness. I love how the World of the Web can do this and when I read another article about The Bloggess and her Red Dress Movement...I was inspired even more.

Strangers helping Strangers. Social media is a powerful tool indeed.

I hope that one day I can twirl around in a big red dress as well haha. Although me and big dresses don't always match, but this is a story for another time. Until then...this illustration has to do ^_^.

Not sure if she ever reads this - She saw it and thinks it's gorgeous! I am Happy! -  a Big Big Thanks to Jenny the Bloggess for her Inspiring story as it inspired me to write this one. Also, for showing her beautiful pictures! If you have some time to spare do click around and have a read. It's inspiring how generous people can be, simply because they want too and want to make someone else happy.

Enjoy your weekend and remember...be Fabulous (yes. The guys have to be Fabulous too)!

Ciao Everyone!

TJ's Kitchen: Appelflappen

Greetings Lovely People!

Something new for you to read: A recipe! Yes, a lot of you know that I love to bake and I bake more than cupcakes hehe.

I wrote the recipe down for my friend, Bill Friday, and figured to post it on my blog as well. I haven't got those in-between pictures though, but I think this recipe is simple enough to go without that.

Whenever I make this recipe I use apples that have been on the table for a while and no one wants to eat them anymore. I don't have exact measurement for you as I don’t measure the cinnamon and sugar. Older apples are naturally very sweet.

Of course you can make your own puff pastry dough, but as I'm known to be lazy, I buy packages with puff pastry sheets. This is a quick snack and since I don't have a lot of time to bake complicated things, I go for an easier solution ;) Each package contains of 10 square sheets.

All in all, a very easy and tasty snack. So let's start!

Ingredients for the filling
Apples - I usually use 4-5 medium sized apples for 40 small pastries (2 packages of puff pastry sheets)
Cinnamon
Granulated sugar
opt. vanilla sugar
opt. sultanas

Extra sugar for the topping.

How to
- Peel and cut the apples in small cubes. Place it in a bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon and if you want sultanas. Exact amount can't be given as it really depends on the natural sweetness of the apples and to your own personal taste.

- Cut the puff pastry diagonally, so you'll get triangle shaped pastries. Add a bit of filling, pinch down the sides with a fork and then give it a wash with milk. Lastly, sprinkle granulated sugar over it.

- Bake it on 190 Celsius/375 degrees for 20-23 min. Of course you can create other shapes if you want. When the pastries are golden brown, they are done.

Buon appetito!! You can eat it warm or let it cool. They are best eaten on the same day. The longer you wait, the less crunchier they will become.

Extra thingies
1. You can mix granulated sugar with a bit of cane sugar for extra crunch.

2. You can also skip the milk and add a wash with water or egg.

3. Regarding the cinnamon/sugar. Personally, I don’t like overly sweet things, so I just add a few teaspoons of sugar and a few shakes of the cinnamon jar. If you add raisins, keep in mind that this gives its own sweetness as well.

4. Left over cinnamon apples are perfect over ice cream, in yogurt etc. 5. The longer the apple mixture sits in the bowl a syrup will form. I usually add a tablespoon of cornstarch flour to the mix to absorb a bit of syrup. But you can't prevent it from happening, so make sure to leave this out of the pastry as much as you can. No soggy pastries please!

5. Vanilla sugar can be easily made by adding vanilla pods (without the seeds) in a jar with granulated sugar. Set it on the shelf for 2 weeks and voila! Vanilla sugar has been made. I think I saw this in one of Nigella's cooking episodes.

That's it! You can experiment with other fruit or flavors or maybe mix the sugar for the topping with almond slivers. But this is a classic, just like apple pie ^_^. It's perfect with a cup of tea, coffee...basically with everything haha. If you make this recipe, do let me know!

Have a lovely weekend! Oh! Don't forget to check out my Zazzle *points to the sidebar* ^_^

Goodies from the World: A Poem for Me!

Hello hello!

You know, I've said it a few times before, but one of the biggest things I'm grateful for since I started blogging are the people I've met. The fabulous Cher...she is one of the friends that I keep close to my heart and I when she surprised me with a poem. I was lost for words. You can meet tons of people across the web, but some really are just true gems. I was so honored by this and I want to share it with all of you! I strongly suggest to check out both her blogs AskCherlock and Poems by Cher. Cher is a brilliant poet and writer. Her poems take you to another world and her posts are always filled with interesting thoughts. Whenever you've visited her blogs you leave with a sense of content, knowing a bit more than when you came there. Plus! She always have a little comment for you! You're not talking to thin air. Cher is an absolute pleasure to know and I don't think I've come across anyone sweeter and caring than her. I'm sure that everyone who meets her, feels the same way. I just love her ^_^.

La Danse du Jour

For our very own TJ Lubrano who allows us to see life through her eyes.

Parting early morning sunlit curtains

She sails through an open window,

Shimmers like crystalline dewdrops

Floating lithely above far away fields

Colors of lavender, yellow, and pink,

Rainbow through hues of indigo blue

She alights upon grass to twirl and whirl

Arms swaying, fingers reaching skyward,

An overture to her delicate ballet with life

She laces on and on through thickets of rye

Then wheat, then lush greenness, and soon

Symbiosis of being one with whimsy and

Mystical, magical, colors occurs sublimely

For today is her Danse and through it

Her mind absorbs each dollop as art and

When morn has ended, she will draw upon

Her visions and paint with supplicant joy

Copyright © 2011 Askcherlock

Everyone! *twirls* Isn't it beautiful :D? Every time I read this, I am so happy! I can't even put it in words haha. The above painting I gave to her as a present. It just belonged to her. Thanks so much again, Sweet Cher!

Have a lovely week guys! And in case you haven't read my column yet...you can find it by clicking the magic word. This time I talk about a Treasure Chest...

Ciao!

Tales from an Illustrator: Magical Tools of the Trade

Hello hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? Things are pretty hectic for me, lots of small projects to finish and hopefully I can share a bunch of new stuff & updates with you all soon! In the mean time I thought I'd share a little story about the tools one can use for an illustration. Let's start!

‘Twas the night before Chris…

Sorry. Wrong beginning!

Once upon a time there was a piece of paper. This piece of paper wanted to express itself with an image, a thought, so it soared down through the Clouds of Memories and held on to a memory. But having this memory wasn't enough. It started to float through the Pencil Woods and got marked with soft lines.

No. This wasn’t enough either. The little paper wanted more and floated further. On its journey it passed the Inky Meadows and the image got marked even more. The memory became more clear. However, it still wasn't enough. The paper wanted color. It wanted depth. So it kept on floating and the wind brought it to the River of Jars. The River was surrounded by little Brush Bushes with little Flower Pans in lots of different colors. The Flower Pans, sparkled and glistened in the sun.

The paper floated towards the bushes when there was a soft movement within the bushes and eyes opened. It turned out that the little brushes were tiny elegant creatures, with soft hair and sparkling golden eyes. Some went to the jars in the river, while others went to the flowers. Splashes of water on the paper, while drops of colors flowed through it. Brush strokes here, brush strokes there. Tiny details here, tiny details there. What once were just a few lines was given life and told a story.

It was here to stay. Forever captured on a piece of paper.

I was a bit in a storytelling mood. Haha. But you can pick out a few of the tools that I use from that little story. I won't add the entire column here as I want to share something else. So if you like to read it all please click the Magic Button. If you want to comment, but don't have an account there you can share your thoughts here as well ^_^.

What I wanted to share with you is the following. Mr. Jim Brandano, is a professional photograhper from the States. His pictures are beautiful. So when you have the chance do browse around his blog! He asked me if I was up for a little collaboration. Of course I was! He sent me a few pictures and I could choose one as an inspiration to create an illustration. I love sunsets so I picked the following:

I just love the deep red orange in this one. Okay, this is what I created out of it! Oh. Do enlarge the picture please.

What do you think? It has darker mysterious vibe I think. But when I saw his picture, I immediately imagined elegant flying creatures in the sky. So I stuck with that image and I call this piece...Creatures in the Sky. Original huh? hehe. Hope you like it!

Enjoy your weekend and till next time.

Ciao!

A Look in the Past: Old Drawings & winner of the Giveaway

Hello everyone!

Before I do anything else, it is time to announce the winner of the Giveaway! *drum rolls*

It is Alejandro from 'Raising Amelie'!!! Woohoo. Congratulations! I shall contact you as soon as I can. A bit about Alejandro...he is a man with many names and personalities. One day he is Darth Vader, the other day he is Superman. I kid you not. He has a personal blog with lots of stories and Amelie is his cute little princess. He is really cool and I always have to laugh when I read his comments, even when he's serious. Yeah, I can't explain why. I just hear a funny voice in my head (Sorry A hehe). Do visit his blog when you have the chance ^_^.

I thought it would be fun to share some drawings from the past with you. I cleaned up my drawings folders and came across a few oldies. Well, I sort off clean up as I just made another pile hehe. I probably have a bunch more though. These drawings are done somewhere between 2001 and 2006.

 
I haven't got a lot of colored drawings from when I was younger. Correction, I don't think I have colored drawings. The thing is, I walked around for a long time, thinking that I would mess up my drawings if I colored them. I really believed that I couldn't do this and felt more comfortable working with pencil alone. Oh how things changed over time haha.

In the past, I really just re-drew art work. Nowadays I use it only as a reference to create my own drawings. Yes. I watched a lot of Dragonball and Dragonball Z. Let's just say, I watched a lot of anime. Hehe.

I often stare in shock when I see older work and I notice a LOT of mistakes *sigh*. Though as much as I want to toss it away, it is cool to see how my style developed over time. Also funny how adding color now feels like a second nature. If you would tell me I would be doing what I'm doing now I would stare at you like this -_-' saying 'Yeah Riiiiigghhht'. Kid you not haha.

I hope you liked this little peek in the past. Till next time!
Ciao!

Jingle Bells in the Distance

Greetings lovely readers,

Jingle Bells in the Distance and yet you see...sunny and tropical ladies! People who follow me on twitter, might have seen them already. I thought it would be fun to see them before this the blog goes into Winter mode. I'm working hard on Christmas illustrations, so you will see these very soon! And yes, this means a new header as well!

That brings me to the following: Christmas Gifts! Christmas is on it's way and I got commissions from people that want to give personalized gifts to family & friends. Usually people just automatically email me when they want to have more information on illustrations, cards, mugs etc. But time flies, Christmas is almost here & people might wonder if I'm too busy with my illustration work...

Do not fear, it is not too late yet! You can still commission me.
If you want to give a special gift for Christmas, shoot me an email at tjlubrano@live.com. Or have a look at the 'Open for Business' page. Here I have more information on the process, so you can send your email as complete as possible.

For people abroad, keep in mind that I actually need to ship the illustration on time if you want it in your hands before Christmas, so the sooner you'll contact me & the smoother the communication goes, the better ^_^.

When I get way too busy, I shall let you know ;)

Have a nice drink and enjoy your day/evening everyone!

Happy Halloween and the winner is...

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Now behold. The time has come for me to announce the winners of the give away! Are you all ready? Got your snacks?

Hmm I wonder who shall win...

*drum rolls & a touch of an electric violin*

Winner no. 1 for the personalized mug is: Gonzalexx
Winner no. 2 for the Halloween print is: Love is colder than Death

Congratulations!!! I have both your email addresses, so expect an email from me soon ^_^.

To all the others who entered, but didn't win...do not worry! The Magic Hat bestowed me with powers and I predict more "Doodly Giveaways" in the near future!

 BOO to You!

My Halloween Zazzle shop will be here for just a few more days, then I'll close it up until I got the Christmas designs ready! So browse around, you can find a sneak peek in the side bar and get what you like before it's gone ;).

Enjoy this Spooky day and till next time.

Ciao!

TJ's WIP: Flower Girl Ivy Liliana

The Lovely Flower Girl Ivy Liliana shall be featured in a WIP post!

Ivy Liliana is from the Flower Girls series. What makes this one different from my other work is that I used an extra step in creating it. I used...coffee! Yes. You have read it correctly. Before I started with the watercolors, I smudged coffee grain all over the paper to give it a stained effect. This intensified the colors even more. Let's start!

You all know by now that you need to start with a brainstorm/sketch session. Proper brainstorming and sketching makes sure that you get familiar with what you want to draw. It can also save you lots of stress when you find out during the inking stage that a certain pose or expression doesn’t work. Usually my sketches are only readable for me, in this case however. The focus was more on the paint. So the sketch work was quite minimal as I already knew exactly what I wanted to draw. So I hoped to the ink phase quite quick.

With most of my work, at this stage, I start with the painting. However, I mentioned coffee earlier and this is the time to wet the drawing entirely and smudge coffee where you want. I use the coffee ground after a pot of coffee has been made. Why coffee? I used coffee in the past to create a pirate map for my sister and I recalled this when I saw an artist using green tea for his paintings. So I thought why not adding an extra layer to a painting and see what effect I will get from of it. After you smudged the coffee ground, wipe most of it of the paper. Be careful, as you can damage the paper with the coffee ground. Then let it dry completely. After it dried completely, remove any leftover coffee ground.

Step 3: Paint, Paint, Paint.
Always start with a light wash and add more color as you go. You can see in the picture below that I added blues and pinks, yellows & oranges for the flowers and darker greens for the plants. I used a wet in wet technique so the colors flow together. After the first layer or two, I will re-ink most of the lines. This way it stands out more and it intensifies the colors.

Whenever a layer is done, by this I mean when I’ve added all the effects that I want in that specific layer; I let it dry completely before I add more color. If you work with a paper that’s too wet, you can easily lift up the paint from the paper or damage the paper. Just repeat the painting process until you’re happy with it.

Step 4: Final touches
Before I scan or take a picture of the painting, I let it sit for a day. When you work for several hours on a painting, you can easily overlook details. So usually after a day and with fresh eyes, I can spot better what I need to adjust in the painting. Usually I just clean up around the edges, re-ink some lines and add more shadow or small details.

With this, we are done! I hope you liked to see the process of one of my illustrations! Looking at the final illustration one may wonder, what magic did the person used to create this?! If you break it down in steps, it isn’t that difficult. By layering the colors, you will achieve a similar effect. It does require patience and practice. This Flower Girl is, as I mentioned before, part of a series, where the focus is more on the female character, surrounded by a blur of flowers. For now it consists out of 6 smaller illustrations and 3 big ones. 

Hope you liked it and if you have questions don’t hesitate to contact me. 

Thanks for reading!

Other WIP
Sing, My Pumpkins, Sing
Tropical Fluffiness