Sartoria Solomeo. The Landscape of Perugia
The Landscape of Perugia
Watercolor, Ink, Gouache and Acrylic on paper
18x24”
140lb Light Texture Cold Press
Men’s tailoring within the house of Brunello Cucinelli.
Eighty Acres. When Real Estate is a Lifestyle
Fashion illustration for Eighty Acres real estate.
Painted in Procreate. Digital illustration is a fantastic way to capture an exact vision with speed and efficiency. From the sketch to the color study to the final image, it can all be completed in one app and on one device.
Tackling the aspirational and inspirational imagery for Eighty Acres was an added bonus on top of my usual fashion centered design. The first image is like a movie poster. It’s reminiscent of James Bond or the Thomas Crown Affair.
The second is like a cinematic still. The moment our main character has arrived on land after taking a Riva from his plane.
It all began with the sketches.
And then came the Color Studies.
These are perhaps more developed color studies but the principle remains the same across processes. It’s a way of understanding the light and color for what the final will be.
Finally we have the completed illustrations.
Eric is known to wear only Eighteenth Amendment. In these two illustrations the style is all Draped in 18th.
Draped in 18th with Eighteenth Amendment by Angel Ramos
Many many years ago, a different life altogether really, I jumped into menswear. Angel Ramos was one of the first people I met in the industry (See this watercolor illustration of him here). He has been a focus of my projects throughout the years (See the Week of Angel feature here).
And now I have had the great opportunity to illustrate the Eighteenth Amendment F/W 2020 Made to Order collection look book.
The Armoury Fall/Winter 2020 Lookbook
This season has been different for everyone. The Armoury decided to invite several artists to interpret a piece from the fall collection in an illustration with the theme of dreaming of the future when we are beyond the New Normal.
I’ve been dreaming of a beautiful escape to Croatia. In previous years I have spent months at a time in Croatia. Once in Makarska and another time in Orasac. There’s nothing like walking down the slope of the mountains to the shore of the Adriatic for an espresso with lapping waves at your feet.
Returning in March with a Worsted Wool Prince of Wales and rollneck from The Armoury would not be a bad way to go.
I took a sample image of the Prince of Wales pattern to create a pattern to use in the illustration. It’s a new warping technique I’ve begun to use on digital fashion illustrations. The overlay creates a more efficient process and maintains a consistent texture across the illustration.
I’ve been wanting to include a Button Built car in an illustration for a while and I stole this opportunity to plug one in. Ah what I’d give to zip around the Croatian coast in a Button Built Rarri.
Hygiene is Medicine. A Stylish and Artistic Approach to Prevention.
Wash your hands. It’s the phrase of the year. It’s the inspiration for our latest fashion illustration.
In the background is an extract from a Gustav Klimt painting titled ‘Medicine’ depicting the cycles of life with the Greek goddess Hygieia (the goddess of Health). Hygieia sits behind our figure in the illustration but you can see her in the painting below as well as a comparison to the original.
Hygieia’s name is sworn upon in Hippokrates’ first oath. First recognized with a cult following outside of Athens, the plagues of 429 and 427 BCE saw the adoption of Hygieia and her counterpart Asklepios into the city of Athens. In times of death and plague we call upon Hygieia. The name from which we now call hygiene is a description of health rather than healing. Sensibility in daily habits for common health is hygiene.
“Thus, Wash Your Hands!”
We need Hygieia in times of public health crises. And the most sensible thing to do is follow the advice of Health experts. Click the button below to read more about best practices from the CDC.
Extract from Gustav Klimt’s ‘Medicine’ for SFM’s ‘Hygiene is Medicine’
Gustav Klimt’s ‘Medicine’
Our gentleman is dressed in the same color suit as the Sciamat illustration, but with a different Italian suit inspiration.
Suit - Brunello Cucinelli, Sartoria Solomeo bespoke suit production
Glasses - Theo Eyewear. I met a gentleman at the Amon Carter who had this pair of glasses in red
Background - extract of ‘Medicine’ by Gustav Klimt
Shirt - Based on a poll on instagram Stories our man needed to be wearing Eton (it was a close call though)
Hygiene is Medicine
Wash Your Hands!!
Wash Your Hands
A Stylish Approach to Prevention
Wash your hands often
with soap and water
20 seconds or more
In absence of soap and water use hand sanitizer with minimum 60% alcohol
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
Avoid close contact with other people- at least 6 feet
Cover you mouth when coughing and sneezing
throw tissues away immediately
wash hands immediately
Clean and disinfect frequently used surfaces daily
clean first
then disinfect
COVID-19 is not airborne and does not require a facemask for general population
Why to Avoid Public Spaces, Even If There’s Barely Anyone Around.
I live along a river in Fort Worth TX. There’s a walking path along the river that goes on for miles and during our quarantine my wife and I take excursions to relieve the cabin fever.
“We keep our distance from others as much as possible. But when a biker decides to spit on you there’s not much to be done.”
We’re walking beside the river, no one in sight. I hear a biker coming up from behind- maybe a few hundred feet behind us. Ruth steps ahead of me, I follow in line and we hug the right side of the walk.
“Imagine you’re in a wide open field, there’s no one else around. All of that space where there’s not a single soul, that’s where he could have expectorated. NO. He let that loogie fly right at us, in the exact moment his space-time crossed with ours.”
Imagine you’re biking quite fast and at the same moment you’re trying to spit on a tree as you pass by. It’s not easy. Your window of opportunity is small.
The biker could pass us with plenty of room. We’re the only other people on the path so he can give us all the attention he needs to not hit us. NO. As he passes us he spits right at us.
Bushmills Whiskey is a Stylish Whiskey
I love a company with heritage. This St. Patrick’s Day I’m drinking @bushmillsusa, the world’s oldest licensed Whiskey Distillery. The original license was granted in 1608. Bushmills was officially formed in 1784 with the current distillery in continuous operation since 1885.
“Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day the real way, with real Irish Whiskey.”
Where you celebrate isn’t the most important thing. We can’t all be in Ireland (although it would be amazing to have a few billion people all in Ireland on the same day). But you can celebrate the real Ireland. There’s #NoGreenBeer in Ireland. There is amazing whiskey.
Click here to check out Bushmills 1608 for your St. Patrick’s Day. You must by 21+
Although this blog post is not a paid post it is pulled from my instagram feed for which I was paid.
When the Patek Philippe 3448 Becomes a Magical Portrait
I must begin with the Patek Philippe 3448. There are many layers to this illustration but the main product focus is on this gorgeous gold case dress watch and thus it requires top billing. And to discuss the Patek Philippe I have to step back to Baselworld and what has happened to the show in light of the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19.
Watches and Wonders Geneva cancelled their show and everyone was wondering what would happen with Baselworld. Not more than a couple days later, Baselworld announced it would postpone its show until January of 2021.
This disrupted my plans as I was anticipating exhibiting a new collection of watercolor on paper paintings of Patek Philippe watches and collectors. It was one of my more anticipated projects for 2020 and suddenly, it was gone.
I turned attention to my illustration series, ‘The Artist.’ I could point my energy to this series and include the Patek Philippe inspiration I had been gathering for some time.
Watch - Patek Philippe 3448. Perpetual Calendar in Yellow Gold.
Suit - Inspiration from Sciamat, the brother owned tailoring company from Italy.
Model - Steven Onoja. New York based, Nigerian born artist and model.
Background - A section of ‘Witches on the Way to Their Sabbath’ or ‘Visions of Faust’ originally painted by Luis Ricardo Falero
On the dial of the watch we see the date Thursday, January 28. This is the date Baselworld has rescheduled the show for in 2021. It’s a reference for me in 10 years to look back and remember this time in history. It is a reference to COVID-19 without directly referencing the virus. In fact, my original version had the celestial hand pointing to 19.
On a more historic note, and as a tie in to the background the original release of the 3448 in the 1960’s had received, what I like to think was affectionate, the nickname ‘Flying Saucer,’ (source via A Collected Man) This gives an appropriate amount of celestial identity to this watch that it was a perfect fit for the Luis Ricardo Falero inspired background. The nickname and the moonphase together just fit too well.
The background is drawn from a section of a painting by the Spanish artist Luis Ricardo Falero, ‘Witches on the Way to Their Sabbath’ or more simply ‘Visions of Faust.’ Luis was inspired by and captivated by astronomy. His work dealt with female nudes in relation to the cosmos, fantasy and to themes of mysticism. This all tied into his allegorical work as well as his celestial work. In reality there are more directly applicable paintings by Falero that would have matched a ‘Flying Saucer’ moonphase but none as visually compelling as ‘Visions of Faust.’
In my edition (you can see the comparison as the slideshow flips back and forth) is a loose representation. If you look back to ‘The Artist with Liverano & Liverano Styling’ illustration you can see the loose painterly treatment of the cherubs. It’s a stylistic treatment I intend to maintain throughout the series when artist backdrops are present.
Unlike the painterly backdrop I want the figure to be highly rendered while still maintaining a sense of painterliness. I found myself returning back to the visage of Steven Onoja. He has become a friend over the years and has established himself as a fashion icon.
My representation is meant to age him 10 years or so. My sense of Patek Philippe, and for that matter Sciamat (the suit that he his wearing in this illustration) is an older, more refined gentleman. He’s seen a few things in life, even if he’s not yet an old man. Since Steven is still a young man I decided to add on him more rigid features.
Because Steven could wear it well, and because it is a perfect fit for Patek Philippe I dressed our figure in Sciamat.
Sciamat is an Italian suiting company founded by brothers Valentino and Nicola Ricci in 2002.
My description will be brief because my way with words is limited and The Rake has a wonderful article about the brand.
They are known for their exquisite quality and signature shoulder. In this slideshow you can clearly see the ‘roped’ shoulder, though that’s not a proper description for how it is actually constructed I find it the simplest way to communicate the expression of the shoulder. Read The Rake article linked above to learn more.
‘The Artist’
When the Patek Philippe Becomes a Magical Portrait