The Illustrated Portrait and Fashion

Initial Ideas For Studio Brief 2 

Considering my year, and what I've liked and disliked  I think a natural direction to take my work in is to look at Illustration of fashion. As I enjoy making images of the human form, and wish to add something more to my portraits - it's something i'd like to focus on conceptually, and I could also experiment with making patterns, adding them to portraits. I've seen so many pretty images which I really like:
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 Kelly Smith - an Australian Illustrator working in fashion and beauty. Her profile says 
"She has worked for a number of local and international clients including: Valentino, Armani, Jenny Packham, H&M, Samantha Wills, NET-A-PORTER, and The Sunday Times STYLE.

Her work has been published in the likes of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, The Hub, Russh, Flare, NET-A-PORTER magazine, TASCHEN's 'Illustration Now! FASHION' and
most recently in her own illustrated book series with Laurence King Publishers titled 'Sticker Fashionista.'

Taking inspiration from fashion, film and fairytales, Kelly's fine detailed pencil work captures a likeness to her subjects, while watercolour and digital elements add subtle hints of colour and softness."



Jessica Rae Sommer - Paints modern stylish women. She's a fashion illustrator as well as an interior designer. She notes that each of her paintings seek to explore what is inside herself and others, and capture them in a unique and curious way, which makes it easier for people to connect with. I love the uniqueness of her work, the colours are vibrant, and the mark making is messy but effective. I think the reason why I like this work is because it isn't just capturing the image of a person, the media and application has been carefully selected to represent the individual, so that it is unique to them and represents who they are. I also love the fashion illustration element, this is another way of studying the human form in an exciting way, and a great way to show individual styles - usually used for branding and advertising - it's purpose isn't just to look pretty, but to sell.

 
Alexander Fedosov - completely different to the previous artists, but he, too predominantly paints the human form, but in his own unique way. His highly skilled digital painting features  fantasied
women - the human elements are present but are twisted into something abnormal. From these reflections,i'm trying to say that i've got to the point where i'm confident with my ability to paint a portrait, i'm now starting to look for a way for my work to stand out, mean something, and be my own. I want people to look at my paintings and see a story, something more interesting than an observational drawing.




My Work:

I've began to try to do this in my previous work throughout the year - studying figures in vogue and trying to add different elements to my portraits.