Monday, June 29, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Doves of Peace
Monday, June 8, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Snippets inspired by books
Since lately I've been immersed in books, the references for the sketches that have made it into my sketchbook have been inspired by some of the books I've read. Experimenting with non-permanent ink, and washes.
1. Shells. Inspired by "All the Light We Cannot See".
An amazing book whose main character is inlove with whelks(snails), among other things.
2. Circus Tents. Inspired by "The Night Circus."
Although not a great book, it had some great imagery.
1. Shells. Inspired by "All the Light We Cannot See".
An amazing book whose main character is inlove with whelks(snails), among other things.
2. Circus Tents. Inspired by "The Night Circus."
Although not a great book, it had some great imagery.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Where in the world is Dominique?
...Lost in books. And that is a true story.
I jumped on the whole "52 books challenge" a few weeks late, and pretty soon found myself doing a backflip off that wagon and on to the express train not wanting to get off. Here's a sketch that shows the 26 books I got through in March alone. Needless to say I'm close to nearing the end of my challenge or rather extending it indefinitely since I'm about 6 months early. That is what happens when you listen to audiobooks at double the speed. Some people speed read, I speed listen. In case you are wondering sometimes it did feel like the book was being shoved in my brain. I listened to them while cleaning, walking, doing production at work, or before sleep. Quite surprising to me I found out that shopping while listening to an audiobook is nearly impossible. Also do not listen to meditation books at double the speed: it will backfire and give you anxiety. Regardless, now I cannot listen at normal speed ever again. Just like in real life, in books I need and like things to move faster.
I read fiction, but also children's books, art books and nonfiction. Some were extremely moving and some forgettable (obviously not mentioned in this post). I feel in love with the genre of historical fiction with books like The Painted Girls based on Degas' ballerinas, and Z: A novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. That lead me to reread The Great Gatsby and The Paris Wife, a novel about Hemmingway's wife. I read books on creativity such as Creative Confidence (5stars) and books on the way the brain functions such as The Power of Habit and the Wisdom of Psychopaths.
I have always hated biographies when I was younger - perhaps because I always had to use them for history book reports, but now I've developed a bit of an obsession for them. I read Open, a biography of Andre Agassi which was quite good and much better than expected (the first chapter alone is phenomenal). One day, I came home to tell my husband I finished Chanel's biography (Sleeping with the enemy) so he could respond with "you mean Audrey Hepburn's"? Please, keep up that was so yesterday-literarly. Some biographies like Audrey's make you idolize the person more, while others like Chanel's makes you question ever wanting to touch anything she ever made. I am hoping my brain won't turn to mush and I can keep all these stories, experiences and beautiful things straight.
The most bizarre and random book I picked up was Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. Tom Mueller is a fantastic writer and he made olive oil so exciting I bored everyone I knew with the details I learned in the book. He turned me into a person who would not stop talking about olive oil, so I'm not sure if I should write him some fan mail or some hate mail.
I'd say I've always had a reading problem and there are days I would rather sit in bed with a book and forget to eat. Being an only child, books were my siblings and at times my friends. I can still hear my mom "No reading at the dinner table!". She's the one to talk since I inherited this reading addiction from her, and my father the bookcollector hoarder. They met fighting over the same collection of art books, so it's only fair they would produce a book nerd.
But how can anyone not love reading? George R.R. Martin said it best: "I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thousand loves. I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read." And that is where I disappeared these past months - in the world of forgotten histories, living other people's lives and feeling their joys and sorrows and it has all been a wonderful adventure. I just want to keep reading more fantastic books, learning more and time traveling!
I jumped on the whole "52 books challenge" a few weeks late, and pretty soon found myself doing a backflip off that wagon and on to the express train not wanting to get off. Here's a sketch that shows the 26 books I got through in March alone. Needless to say I'm close to nearing the end of my challenge or rather extending it indefinitely since I'm about 6 months early. That is what happens when you listen to audiobooks at double the speed. Some people speed read, I speed listen. In case you are wondering sometimes it did feel like the book was being shoved in my brain. I listened to them while cleaning, walking, doing production at work, or before sleep. Quite surprising to me I found out that shopping while listening to an audiobook is nearly impossible. Also do not listen to meditation books at double the speed: it will backfire and give you anxiety. Regardless, now I cannot listen at normal speed ever again. Just like in real life, in books I need and like things to move faster.
I read fiction, but also children's books, art books and nonfiction. Some were extremely moving and some forgettable (obviously not mentioned in this post). I feel in love with the genre of historical fiction with books like The Painted Girls based on Degas' ballerinas, and Z: A novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. That lead me to reread The Great Gatsby and The Paris Wife, a novel about Hemmingway's wife. I read books on creativity such as Creative Confidence (5stars) and books on the way the brain functions such as The Power of Habit and the Wisdom of Psychopaths.
I have always hated biographies when I was younger - perhaps because I always had to use them for history book reports, but now I've developed a bit of an obsession for them. I read Open, a biography of Andre Agassi which was quite good and much better than expected (the first chapter alone is phenomenal). One day, I came home to tell my husband I finished Chanel's biography (Sleeping with the enemy) so he could respond with "you mean Audrey Hepburn's"? Please, keep up that was so yesterday-literarly. Some biographies like Audrey's make you idolize the person more, while others like Chanel's makes you question ever wanting to touch anything she ever made. I am hoping my brain won't turn to mush and I can keep all these stories, experiences and beautiful things straight.
The most bizarre and random book I picked up was Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. Tom Mueller is a fantastic writer and he made olive oil so exciting I bored everyone I knew with the details I learned in the book. He turned me into a person who would not stop talking about olive oil, so I'm not sure if I should write him some fan mail or some hate mail.
I'd say I've always had a reading problem and there are days I would rather sit in bed with a book and forget to eat. Being an only child, books were my siblings and at times my friends. I can still hear my mom "No reading at the dinner table!". She's the one to talk since I inherited this reading addiction from her, and my father the book
But how can anyone not love reading? George R.R. Martin said it best: "I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thousand loves. I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read." And that is where I disappeared these past months - in the world of forgotten histories, living other people's lives and feeling their joys and sorrows and it has all been a wonderful adventure. I just want to keep reading more fantastic books, learning more and time traveling!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Leaves
Drawings of leaves, a theme I've always enjoyed. I have a lot of leaves pressed between pages of books and sketchbooks. Sometimes it can be embarrassing to take out a notebook to take down a note and have leaves and petals fall everywhere. But usually it is a joy and a pleasant surprise to turn the page and find a perfectly preserved and fragile memory.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Instagram, snippet of 2014
In 2014 I got peer pressured into Instagram. Something along the lines of "You don't instagram, what kind of designer/photographer are you?". So I made an effort to post more than my usual quota: one image a year.
I am not a fan of a lot of the filters, and even when I apply one, I manually tweak all the settings. I am however a sucker for the tilt shift since it creates that faux depth of field that I miss with "real camera" photography. Also the square format always reminds me of 120 film which I miss dearly. I take thousands of iphone photos but for some reason instagraming and tagging them does not come naturally to me. Perhaps because most of the pictures on my phone are cat ones and I think the internet has enough cats for now.
I included the last one as a self portrait mostly because I like the grungy look of the background. Odd how a selfie really is just a self portrait, but that term somehow cheapens it. Don't get me wrong there are lots of pros to cellphone photography, but I miss my actual camera. Even more so, I miss film. I do like the ease of taking out your phone and capturing something on the spot, like for example a sleeping bird you find on a fire hydrant (pic. 1). There is no longer that "Oh, No! I don't have my camera on me!". But I do miss a real lens and I will have to make it a point to take out my actual camera and take some photos this year.
I am not a fan of a lot of the filters, and even when I apply one, I manually tweak all the settings. I am however a sucker for the tilt shift since it creates that faux depth of field that I miss with "real camera" photography. Also the square format always reminds me of 120 film which I miss dearly. I take thousands of iphone photos but for some reason instagraming and tagging them does not come naturally to me. Perhaps because most of the pictures on my phone are cat ones and I think the internet has enough cats for now.
I included the last one as a self portrait mostly because I like the grungy look of the background. Odd how a selfie really is just a self portrait, but that term somehow cheapens it. Don't get me wrong there are lots of pros to cellphone photography, but I miss my actual camera. Even more so, I miss film. I do like the ease of taking out your phone and capturing something on the spot, like for example a sleeping bird you find on a fire hydrant (pic. 1). There is no longer that "Oh, No! I don't have my camera on me!". But I do miss a real lens and I will have to make it a point to take out my actual camera and take some photos this year.
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