My inner child.

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Stop making sense.

A very new illustration from yesterday…

Life keeps changing you.

I did this illustration a while ago, around New Year. It was part of a little assignment I got and struggled with for some time. But I’m quite pleased with it now…

Superman.

Another new illustration – this time no hero or at least no one in special. I started this year in black and white and thought I would stay with it for some time now. The latest experiment with “real”, not Photoshop-created colour, didn’t satisfy me that much but somehow I couldn’t stop thinking about it and one day I had a very strong feeling that I should give felt pens a try. So here is the outcome and I have to say I’m really pleased with it. This way colour really works for me – what do you think?

Heroes III

My third hero in row is Mr. Michael Stipe. I talked about him and R.E.M. already at length on this blog, so there’s not much for me left to say. Somehow I never really came to know much about Stipe, although he always was in my life somehow. It was not until the last couple of weeks that I started to read a lot about him and the band and trying to understand more about all this. A strange thing somehow, to be able to call somebody your hero without knowing much about him. But somehow that worked out quite well – maybe it was more about what his music and his appearance triggered in me, than what his lifestyle would have told me. A different kind of hero, but nonetheless my hero.

Heroes II

As promised, my next hero banned on paper in black and white. As I mention, quite frequently, on this blog, I’m a very big Beatles fan and my biggest hero ever must and will be Mr. John Winston Lennon. I was close to an obsession I guess, when I was around 13, 14 years old and he was a very important figure to me during my adolesence. And my fascination and engagement with all things Lennon never really stopped. Now, when I think about him, he feels more like a family member or a close friend which I don’t get to see anymore but have so many fond memories about. It’s a strange thing, how you kind of get to know a person, without ever actually meeting him. But of course, in the end, you can’t really get close to your hero, how could you. You get close to a version you fabricate in your head. A version that let’s you get closer to yourself maybe. And that may be a good thing, I guess.

Everybody needs some heroes.

I’m working on a new illustration series at the moment, which will feature all of the musicians, writers, artists, etc. that influenced me a lot and accompanied me through my life so far. This idea came to me about a year ago and I’m thinking about it now for some time. And I really love it. First of all I enjoy thinking about my so-called “heroes” and deciding which one really means enough to me to make it into this project. And second it’s great to dig deep and re-experience what they represent in my life and to try to put all this in the drawing. There’s more to come soon…

But first – it’s the infamous Mr. Liam Gallagher. Oasis were such an important band for me growing up and their music never lost its magic for me. I don’t think even a month had gone by since I was about 13 or 14 that I’ve not heard their music. You could argue now – why Liam? Why not Noel? He’s the mastermind behind all the albums and hits and Liam is just the naughty show-off that knows to sing. And yes, you’re absolutely right. But for me it always was Liam – eventhough I’m quite sure I wouldn’t like him, if he was just a guy I would meet in real life. As singer on the stage and from this certain distance he always fascinated me a lot. He’s that bad boy with that great voice and that attitude that kind of helped me through adolescence. Most of the time I was quite a good girl but his wildness helped me to step out more and speak up. And I cherish that very much, because I think everybody needs a wild and rude side, even though you wouldn’t act on it most of the time – you can enjoy it a lot in that bad boy on stage.

Make it ten.

Okay, finally I’m back with an illustration – one still from the old year, but we’re moving forward. I had the pleasure to get to know Mr. Alex Nowak recently, illustrator as well as teacher in this fine profession. And because, one should never ever stop learning and challenging oneself, we decided that I would secretly become one of his students. So, what you see above is my first assignment: Draw 10 characters with different emotions and personalities. I did, and this is the result. And I got lucky as well, professor Nowak was quite happy with the outcome. :)

This illustration is also quite special to me, because, for the first time, I didn’t digitally colour it by Photoshop but used chalk. Which is quite a challenge, because you can never go back to where you started. But, in the end it went quite well I guess. Even though I’m not sure yet, if I will stick to this technique. Time will tell.

Merry Christmas.

Dear people out there!

It’s time to say “Merry Christmas” and to take the final spurt before 2011 finally is history. I hope you all have the best and cosiest holidays and I promise to take more care of this blog in the new year!

Take care!

Coming clean.

Going through some of my stuff I found some illustrations I did a while ago. The first batch is from our holiday in Germany last spring. It’s kind of nice, coming across something you completely had forgotten about – because then will be the right time to look at them again. You’re far enough away from the time making them and any emotional bond that could mess with your view. If you like them now, you have a chance that they maybe really quite good…

The next two are from about one month ago. I wasn’t very fond of the first one while making it… but now I quite like it. Just decide for yourself…