6.18.2010

Richard Merkin & Anais Nin Inspiration

I think my life is finally slipping back into 'normal mode' since my return from Bonnaroo on Monday. It was quite an adventure I had there, and I appreciate all the kind comments you guys left in the previous post but man am I happy to be home. I can't believe so many of you read the entire thing, but hopefully, if you made it through, you feel like you have a better understanding of what to expect from a music festival. I went out yesterday and took some photos for the first time since coming home, but I'm trying to do some tricky editing with them and may not be able to show you until the weekend. I want to show you everything now, but I really should wait until I have it all completely ready. Hopefully this weekend!

Until I get those ready, I figured I'd show you some of the inspiration I used for my newest blog graphic. The 'outfit' graphic was inspired by a Richard Merkin piece on the front of my Anais Nin book, Little Birds (good book and great author, btw). It says it's from the 'Richard Merkin Collecion', but I'm not sure if that means Richard Merkin drew it or if the rights are just under his name? I know he was an artist, but the rest of his work carries more of a cubist, cartoony feel to it. One of the pieces that appears if you google his name is the Coon's Chicken piece from Ghost World. It's just a little cigarette holder, but I'd love to know if Richard Merkin had anything to do with it or not!



I guess it really doesn't matter though. Even if Merkin didn't do the Little Birds drawing, I still love it. It's very sweet and innocent and makes me think of prissy little girls in the 20's. I'm terrible with keeping accurate proportions when I draw, so it helps to look at other drawings as I go. I didn't do a direct copy of this piece but studying the proportions of the legs and arms was the only reason I was able to execute it. 

Just so you get a complete understanding of my process from paper to computer, I broke down my steps in the photos below. First I draw it, then I scan it. After that, I add whatever colors and text I want, resize it, and voila; it's ready to slap on my blog!


6 comments:

♥ Lily said...

I absolutely loved your Bonnaroo post, it really inspired/helped me come up with some ideas to make my festival experience as good as it can be this year.
I love that little graphic,it's so adorable!

April said...

Looks great! Wish I could draw... anything, basically. haha

moonshinejunkyard said...

that is ADORABLE and i love anais nin. thank you once again for showing the process of "updating" your blog, i might have to give it a try one of these days! this little cutie girl is the perfect look for your beautiful clothes and girly style. it makes me feel all rosy and peachy keen!

Rosie said...

Supah cute, you're so talented!

Hannah said...

That's so cute!
I love watching bloggers start to compile graphics on their sidebars. It must be the organizer in me.

Victoria / Justice Pirate said...

aw you're adorable with your tutorial type of entries. I like your little drawings!!!!!