Thursday, September 30, 2010

A Different Spring.



Come around this spring, myriads of colors will be the center of attention on the clothes of women. Not for the Spring/Summer '11 Dries Van Noten woman. She in fact is paying little attention to colors and shape this time 'round. On the menu this season, heavily muted down colors in soft tones of pale grey, a light crisp powder blue, and sand beige. These colors were accompanied by marvelous realistic prints of flowers and other botanical plants, offered on various fabrics such as silk, taffeta, cotton and wool. And this is just the beginning. On the pants and blazers, prints of the flowers are 'washed' over by the simple monochromatic colors, and that what makes the collection is strongest point. But that is not the least of it.

It wasn't the color that concerned me, in fact I loved the blended mixture of flower prints and neutral tones. Maybe a shopping trip to the mens department will vamp up your spring wardrobe. It does get a bit tiring to see the female's body form in all of its glory, in skintight leather, silk, etc. Van Noten did well at making a bit more street casual look. Perhaps, this is the new entrance to the 'woman in power.'









Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Androgyny: The New Black.




Women with half shaved heads, men in pleated leather skirts. You can say that fashion is evolutionary and is always changing. It is. Heed it. It is the new 'culture,' a culture in which we defy our general stereotype. The weekly trends is only a matter of how much we raise the bar.





Monday, September 27, 2010

Black and White and All Over.

The Helmut Lang woman is a woman of ease, free from the tyranny of style(at least from the mainstream). She is wrapped head to toe in white, taupes, and nudes, replacing the usual black color scheme. This is lighter side of her. Hint at her silhouette, she still has a dark side.

Precise cutting gives the minimal look. As usual, asymmetrical is taken up a notch. Here and there, neckline and waist is twisted. But just imagine all the fabrics! A blazer houses a chiffon lapel. Simple dresses are printed with a simple black and white stripe to give off a wring effect. Or maybe this is an updated modern, black and white tie-dye shirt. What's more? This collection is in keeping with the Helmut aesthetic (cuts are long and in wrong places). Overall, if someone is getting tired of the bright, flashy colors of Spring and Summer, she can always have a safety net into this collection.

I have been a admirer of the house, even after the man retired. I have been equally impressed and overwhelmed at the unusually heap amount of black in every collection. But here's more important: they still are able to carry on his legacy, his aesthetic, and his style.




The duo designer recently unveiled a new collection: handbags. The bags are clearly in keeping with the tone, done in soft tones of grey leather, in envelope shape, matching the woman.










Friday, September 24, 2010

It Still Works Over There.

It’s safe to say that I’m hit really hard by the recession. Meaning that I cannot afford my usual outrageous spending on clothes anymore, but that doesn’t mean I cannot make a list of the favorite pieces that I like so years down the road, I’ll find it hanging on the ‘vintage’ racks. Spring/Summer 2011 collections are being unveiled in Milan, New York City, Paris, wherever a society functions.

So far, Band of Outsiders is in the top favorites of ready-to-wear. The menswear pieces are so influential and evoke a cross of‘a night on the yacht’ get-up and a dressy outdoors man. The men’s collection jumps with joy in dark/light colors. Minimalism is clearly a theme visible to the naked eye. Yes, something in this collection will be seen in my closet, not anytime soon


For the women: sheer, sheer, sheer! The fabrics are in keeping with the spring and summer weather, albeit the exposed breasts. Finely tailored blazers, included with sleeves on or off, on a very warm color palette of taupe, concrete, ash blue, and loud tint of black. This is my idea of what a woman of true style dressing up during a warm day, amidst the crowd of women draped in the kaleidoscope of colors. Military and asymmetrical style is clearly the look the look that woman was vying for.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Noire and New Issues.

I am really on a roll here. That is on my next project. I had this old cork board lying around my studio and I thought to myself "what life does it still have in it anyways."

Now, I'm beginning. I applied a gesso to stiffen the cork surface and yes, it worked. It has rough surface that I like to work with. Shortly after the gesso dried, I use this creamy texture acrylic to the background to evenly smooth it out and give a subtle hint of shine. The next stage of the painting for me to conquer is using oil colors in hues and tints of cream and burnt umber and apply it to a portion of the subject. The reason so is that I want to use my aesthetic (half finished looks; work in progress theme). I don't necessarily want to exemplify the use of blacks and whites as a basic color scheme when using the human anatomy. It rather has a emotional distress and detachment.

Stay Tuned.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Summer is Ending Now and So Should Everything Else.


I am exhausted from everything, and I'm not even sure that's a good thing. I decided to take a break from this semester to get my head cleared out and focused. Only so far, that I haven't conquered anything I needed to--yet.

My trip to Costa Rica back in May, lasted for 14 days. It was absolutely splendid. The landscape was lush, pure and absolutely nothing what I had imagined in my mind. I recently decided that it's time for me to travel for a bit, maybe for six months to a year. It feels like the right decision for me, of course since I only have about six weeks left at my job. I seemed to have garnered something that causes me to become extremely fickle, or maybe that's my personality.

In the meantime, I have been using my time by finishing all my artwork that has been piling with dust. It's time to finish my portfolio this semester.








Friday, September 10, 2010

My Grey Garden


I forgotten what it felt like to stay home on the weekend due to me traveling up to Phoenix for various reasons the past three weeks. A Friday night in meant that I am going to intake a sugary French wine with my usual side of Brie and crackers, and a haunting documentary called Grey Gardens.

This probably the most fun I've had in a long time, at least with myself. The documentary was nothing that I had played in my head. I kept imagining some brutal, cult film that truly terrifies you. The relationship between Little Edie and Big Edie Beale is haunting, clausterphobic, and so driven. It's hard to imagine living cooped up in a decaying house, shutting off the outside world to stay inside your world. It's easy to fall prey to this, shutting off the outside world.

What's fascinating is that I can find some connection to relate to these remarkable women. At the end of the documentary, I just had the tendency that whatever chance I get, I'm going to grab it, no matter how big or small, I shouldn't let any goals drive-by.

That is all.

Monday, September 6, 2010

The Simplicity of Minimalism



“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” - Albert Einstein.

Oh, the joy of minimalism. The thought of using the most fundamental features of everything is amazing. It is simple and it says so much with very little, and to me, that is important in the message through my artwork.

Recently, I started exploring the notions of the shape of body forms, as well as the color, shading (chiaroscuro). But, this is just one part of the process that I'm working with. Using this style with textiles would produce some amazing effects, especially on white, or off-white (creme) leather.

Stay tuned.


The Woman of A, 2010, Graphite on Newsprint paper.


Untitled # 78, 2010, Graphite and Watercolor on Bristol paper.