Illustrating for Neiman Marcus & Jo Malone London

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of doing some illustration work for Jo Malone London Fragrances at a very special Neiman Marcus event debuting the launch of their new line of London Rain fragrances! I had an amazing time creating 4 original watercolour illustrations inspired by each new scent: Rain and Angelica, Wisteria and Violet, White Jasmine and Mint (my personal favourite), and Black Cedarwood and Juniper. 

I met with Neiman Marcus earlier in the week to talk details about the event and pick up samples of the new Jo Malone fragrances in their flagship store here in Atlanta. 

All of the scents smelled gorgeous, but I really loved the White Jasmine and Mint. My task was to create 3 watercolour illustrations inspired by each individual scent, and present a live painting of the fourth scent at a very special, exclusive event later in the week. 

I set to work on 300lb Arches Hot Press watercolour paper, with the inspiration from the scents, an open studio window, and dozens of reference photos of gorgeous rainy gardens and different botanicals.

The first scent was Rain and Angelica: morning dew drops with bright, clean, refreshing notes, and a light, aquatic feel.

The second scent was Wisteria and Violet - I loved this scent, warm and rich with inspiration from wisteria trees hanging heavy with raindrops, waterlilies, and violets. 

And the third illustration I prepared was for the fragrance White Jasmine and Mint. This scent had bright pops of lime and mint over a feminine floral base of white jasmine flowers, orange blossoms, and English roses. I love elegant rose scents, so this was naturally my favourite!

On Friday, I arrived at Neiman Marcus with my illustrations and supplies for the live painting event. It was a wonderful experience! Everyone on the team from Neiman Marcus and the lovely English gentlemen from Jo Malone London were absolutely kind and generous to me. The tables at the event were set with cakestands full of tea sandwiches and little pastries, and the space was scented with rain and florals. The clientele were treated to coffee and champagne as we all sampled classic scents and new scents from the Jo Malone Collection. 

My works were set up at the front, and I explained my inspiration behind each painting; and began painting the inspiration of the fourth scent as the clientele sampled it. 

The fourth scent, Black Cedarwood and Juniper, is a nighttime scent with notes of chili and cumin, with a mysterious, alluring base of cedarwood and juniper. I wanted to capture the smokiness of the scent with clouds of pine green and deep grays, and then add a burst of heat in the form of a bright red bloom in the center. 

The live painting was pretty fast-paced, but so much fun! The clientele were then encouraged to paint their own illustrations about their favourite scent, and it was great to walk around and see what they came up with. 

I was so honoured to illustrate for Neiman Marcus and Jo Malone London; it was truly an inspiring event!

Show Me the Munny!

A week ago I had the pleasure of showing at Mindzai Creative's Custom Munny show. Before I dove completely into my illustration career, I did a lot of sculpting and this was a refreshing leap back into the waters. I was very honoured to show along some incredibly talented friends and illustrators, and I wanted to share some photos with you!

I also wanted to show a few of my good friend's Munny's! Check out Mindzai's whole album to see all of the pieces from the show!

From left:

Kevin Bongang // Jonquel Norwood // Barry Lee // Nate Frost

Snowpocalypse Atlanta

It's the second round of the Snowpocalypse in Atlanta, and I took a little time out from my work schedule to run around outside. This Native Northerner is prepared for the snow and ice!

Back to Blogging

As usual, I am late to the party (perhaps fashionably?). I'll spare you the details about reasons why I dropped off the face of the blogging planet since October, let's just call it "grad school", capiche?

The truth is, my job has inspired me to start blogging again. My boss is an extremely gifted and smart marketer and entrepreneur, and as I have taken on a creative role in her business, I have begun to think a lot about my own restless blog. The truth is, I miss blogging. I like sharing my process, and with the advent of my passionate love affair with Instagram, I sort of replaced one with the other. I want to make a concerted effort to update here though, and share a little bit more insight than what one picture and a bunch of hashtags can do.

So without further ado, 

And let's get back on the bus. 

If I haven't posted in a week or so, you all have permission to call me names.

It's early February in Atlanta, and I survived the 2 inches of Snowpocalypse that turned the city into The Walking Dead. This native Northerner laughed over the dusting of snow (... until her car died in the middle of rush hour traffic and whipping snowflakes and angry people. All ended well though.)

I am working on my thesis and am about to graduate with my MFA, and it's a strange feeling. I am very happy at my job, and have taken on several freelance assignments, and will be exhibiting my work in a number of places this Spring. I'm curious where 2014 will take me, but I have a good feeling about it.

And I gave this sleepy blog a fresh face lift. Nice, eh?


Art Print $22