Harris Tweed
A friend of mine is intensely interested in Harris Tweed. He has visited the islands where it is made, talked with the mill owners and sees an opportunity to invest in a Harris Tweed rebirth. His interest has peeked my own and has caused a heavy influence of Tweed in many of my illustrations.
A big question though, is Harris Tweed viable in the 21st Century?
All of the tweed is made on a specific set of islands in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. All of the tweed is home spun and can be made no other way. Parliament even enacted legislation to protect Harris Tweed from being produced anywhere else with any other standards than how it is produced in the Outer Hebrides. A special Orb is attached to all approved Harris Tweed to guarantee authenticity. The islands' economies are almost exclusively based on the production and sale of this special wool.
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With most fashion labels producing ready made clothing in large factories at ever cheaper prices the cost of doing business in the Outer Hebrides is high. Businesses are purchasing less of the heavy weight wool and expensive artisan craftsmanship to produce their items at the lowest and cheapest costs.
Is anyone interested in wool fabrics for leisure in the spring and summer?
Is there a demand for high quality and intricate craftsmanship?
Illustration Weekly…2
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See this article on TheFollowFashion.com
And check back every week on theFollowFashion.com and Sunflowerman.com for more on this fashion series.
The Follow Fashion and Sunflowerman...
It's almost the new year and it's time to get ready for a new collaboration. In the new year look for a new Sunflowerman article series on TheFollowFashion.com
Great Afternoon Brunch...
Sundays are the best days. Often they are filled with good friends, eating, and coffee!
Sundays are brunch days. Yes, you can eat brunch any day, but on Sundays, especially in the south there is a culture that is surrounded by weekend brunch…and I love it.
This Sunday a group of us went to Radial Café for an afternoon brunch. Put any thoughts of brunch being defined by time. It is an experience of friendship and the breaking of bread with those friends, and for me it is all centered around that delicious, ceramic mugged, bitter, bold, caffeinated fluid. Gouda Scramble was the piece de resistance- ordered by 4 out of the 7 members of the group. This day I chose the Salmon Scramble and do believe that I have found a new favorite.
This Sunday also happened to be the first chilly day of the cold season. I arrived in a t-shirt and soon needed to dapper up to eat in cozy comfort. Click the middle image to see the way brunch dandy dresses.
A Great Day for Fashion...
I met my good friends for lunch the other day and it was a fantastic fashion frolic. I had to stop the joyful meeting and capture the moment. They laughed, they posed, they frustrated each other and it was all a great time.
And wouldn't you know it, one's a poet and one's an illustrator.
Check out Quellie's artwork here.
Sunflowerman and Atlanta Street Fashion...
Happened to be in the right place, wearing the right stuff, at the right time. Met Sir Adams, the administrator and creative mind behind the Atlanta Street Fashion blog and we hit it off. The day began as fabulous as one could imagine. I gave myself an extra hour of sleep and still awoke at 7 in the morn. The first order of business was a watercolor concept for some oven designs. Next came the technical work in that powerful adobe application, Illustrator.
By 9:30 I was off to wisp my beautiful girlfriend to Utrecht for a paper run. On my traversing the winding paths of Atlanta's roadways I made a pit stop at the bank and found my way to my favorite Coffee spot. Yet again Condesa Coffee served as a mystifying union for strategic meetings and creative energy.
It was at Condesa that I met up with John Cutrell, who magically configured my wordpress.com address to read as sunflowerman.com. Almost immediately after I met Cameron Adams. You can see the rest of what happened below.
Caleb Morris Paints...
If you have ever heard a tall tale or seen someone paint a story in your mind then you have met Caleb Morris. He has a nack for tall tales and hyperbole. You might more accurately say that he has a unique ability to embellish, and I mean to share this with the utmost respect. A story woven by any other person is simply a reiteration of events gone by. When Caleb speaks stories are born. He gives life and character to moments that you or I would never experience outside of his recollection.
Beyond the imagination of his words is the imagination of his hands. Caleb is an illustrator. An illustrator in a world like Caleb's is a story teller. The same vivid drama that he speaks he also conjures as image.
When we decided to trade Illustrations I was elated. This was my chance to hold on to a story wrought by Caleb forever.
Below is the story that Caleb painted for me. Find his work here.
I thought that I would share my contribution as well. It was an honor to have the opportunity to paint this dog. Artie is not simply an old dog waning in life. He is an old man who thinks he can lay in the bed with ma and pa. He is full of mischief and tom-foolery and continually leads Caleb into trouble. His legs fail him, but his desires carry him. He is full of color and joy.
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Other Works by Caleb Morris
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Illustration Friday… Bounce
Bounce Sheep, bounce Bounce from dream to dream
Bounce from dream to daydream
Bounce back and forth
and forth and back.
Bounce from dream to reality.
Illustration Friday… Loneliness
It is not the sound that no one hears It is not the face that no one sees
It is in wondering if someone hears
It is in wondering if someone sees
Loneliness.
Illustration Friday… Carry
Carry me, on the belly of a sloth- slow and slow and slow.
Move me,
through the never ending jungle- on and on and on.
Feed me,
with the fruit of joy- more and more and more.
Live Painting… Medieval TImes
The other day I had the pleasure of spending my time at the Medieval Times in Atlanta. It was time for the newest show, which I am told only happens every four years or so. I was invited in to paint during the VIP reception. Katrina was my contact at Medieval Times and found me a great Medieval jacket and vest to go along perfectly with my yellow glasses and red paisley bow tie. I arrived, set up and three hours later a masterpiece was born!
It was made known to me during the reception that the story I was telling with the painting happened to coincide with the theme of the new show where a horse opens the evening in a routine galloping naked around the arena. I guess that just goes to prove that when I do it, I do it right.
Fashion Illustration… Giambattista Valli
I was contacted by the wonderful people at D2G Apparel to do some illustrations based on the Paris Fashion week that ended on the 4th of this past month. While I have been focusing on mens' fashion lately I thought that it might be a nice diversion from the normal. Also, women are just much more fun to draw. The week was full of amazing projects and designs. The first day kicked off with the always lovely Versace, but what really peaked my interest was the work of Giambattista Valli. There was a yearning for nature and beauty together that conjugated in the floral arrangements adorned by the women of the runway. Flowers and butterflies and floral prints were all a rather literal interpretation, but powerful nonetheless.
I identified several aspects from the Valli line that would work there way into my interpretive illustration.
-nature -light reds and greens -floral print -controlled hair, pulled back and tight
Included below are the final illustration and the process of the painting.
Look to D2G Apparel in the next several weeks to where this image on a shirt.
Fashion Illustration… D.R.E.S and GQ
Since the very last post prior to this one is about the original illustration I will not go on for long. This is the sixth GQ cover in the series so far (the rest found here). I might say I am actually getting quite good at this. So step down this way and take a look at the newest edition of the illustrated GQ with D.R.E.S. ThaBeatnik.
Fashion Illustration… Dres Tha Beatnik
I was walking through Starbucks to see a friend. As I was walking this gentleman caught my eye. He was dressed very well and had this character about himself that was quite attractive. After grabbing my coffee I walked over to where he was seated and asked if I could use him as a part of my fashion portrait series. His name is Dres D-R-E-S (dr-ah-s). Can't lie, I struggled pronouncing Dres correctly.
It turns out that he is a local Atlanta musician, perhaps even a local celebrity. He handed me a copy of his recent album, I snapped a pic on my phone and we parted ways.
This is what came of that interaction. Also, check out his myspace and enjoy the mix.
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Fashion Illustration… Mikey and GQ
Mike McLaughlin is a good friend of mine. We graduated high school together and I saw him evolve in a way. I can't say that I have ever dressed 'better' than Mr. McLaughlin- No, he has always been at least one step ahead as far as fashion is concerned- but I did get to see a bit of a transformation. After High School Mike began to see this dapper man emerging, not a different person but a different image. It was a more polished image, stylish one might say. Whereas before he was simply aware of his presence he was now taking command of it. This is something that will take him far when he is touring the world and orchestrating symphonies.
Mike is a good friend and well dressed fellow.
Here are a couple good links relating to this article Mikey Illustration Behance
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Fashion Illustration… Ken Tran
Ken Tran is this dapper fella I know. He has a style all his own and he wears it in the most impressive fashion. Not from Atlanta, but making darn sure that Atlanta stays chic in his wake.
Fashion Illustration… Kamau and GQ
George is not an Atlanta native, but he is an Atlanta man. One thing that always strikes me about George is his sense of style, especially in regards to attending the Atlanta night-scene's dance clubs. Another thing about George is his keen entrepreneurial eye. He's got a knack for flipping shoes and perhaps a few other things that I might not want to share here.
Without further ado, George Kamau on the cover of GQ!!
If you missed it before I have linked here the first time we met George here on the blog.
Illustration Friday… Secret
Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe! That is, if you want to remain alone and sad.
Fashion Portrait… Lushlife and GQ
The next installment in the mock GQ covers is the Lushlife cover! Linked here is the original Lushlife post if you missed it.
And here's what it would look in the real life.
Fashion Portrait…Cuni
Shawn Cuni is one of the coolest people you could ever know. I had the pleasure of being his roommate for a while and respect him as a person and a creative. Few people are as neat and organized, and few people have his potential.Check out his instagram @psjc and the website on flickr Shawn Cuni
All of that said his street fashion is what we are focusing on today. You might think 'hipster' upon meeting him- at least that is what comes to my mind- then you find out his love for PBR and Radiohead and you know that's probably a good assessment. During a night of chilling on the porch I snapped a few photos and brought them home to paint.
I started this painting by pasting pages from an old book onto hardboard with matte medium. Then I proceeded to sketch out the basic forms with a colored pencil. After that I go over the lines with waterproof india-ink. After that dries I pool in washes of watercolor and add highlights with white acrylic paint. Finally I add shadows and washes of other colors to bring out the form and it's complete!