Chris Benz Fall 2010 Was Amazing!

Well my Friends,
Sorry for the post delay.
It's been crazy! Been trying to finish up deadlines, and been sorting through images, video, etc.
and been feeling a little run down, and kind of sick today...
On top of that, I shot camera raw for the first time ever for my trip,
and there has been a weird computer compatibility!
But i finally got finished sorting through the hundreds and hundreds of images from the Chris Benz Show!

Ok, so first off, the Chris Benz Show was the first real show that i've got to go backstage!
I have to say, I hope next season I get to do that alot more,
cause I got so many great images back there that I'm just dying to Paint Now!
I think it would have been pretty funny if you could have seen my face back there!
I think i had a ear to ear grin. I was like a kid in a candy shop! haha
It was magical to see everything getting setup, the models getting prepared, the makeup artist hard at work.
Oh! Which speaking of makeup artists, i got to meet the great YouTube makeup artist Michelle Phan!
It's awesome that Lancome just signed her as a makeup artist for them.
It was great talking with her, and it was really interesting to hear her studies and background in school was in Fine Art. :)

Well, i think you can probably tell just by the pictures above how fun Chris Benz collection was.
I think it was maybe the brightest, fun collection of New York Fashion Week,
and definitely a top 5 Favorite of the Week, (which i will be outlining my top 5 collections of NYFW really soon!)
There was something about it that reminded me of Dr. Seuss's "Whoville"!

Maybe it was the Bright Who Colors
Or the beautiful girls who stood out among the others,
I'm really not sure why it happened to be,
That the Girls of Whoville were staring back at me!

Hahaha Sorry for my pathetic Dr. Seuss rhyme!
But I seriously loved every element of the collection,
The Fur hats and the Long Dr. Seuss Fur Gloves.
The Beautiful Sequins & the Bright Candy Colors.
It was such a warm and playful collection.
I'm always a fan of Big Bright Fall Collections.
The winter is so dark and semi-monotone,
so i love how bright garments look with the grey sky as the backdrop.

Since i took more pictures than i could probably put on line,
I ended up splitting the post into two posts on my Image Diary.
Click Here if you want to see it! :)
And i hope you are having an incredible day!

Oh! Thank you Kerry, Lancome, & Chris Benz! I had the best time at the Presentation! :)

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Plane Sketch of Vogue Enfants

Y-A-W-N...
Opps, sorry for the yawn!
Oh, my, I'm tried!
Trying to get back on California time...
but it's a little bit of a transition.
Before I got to bed, I thought I would post a quick sketch that I did on the plane ride to New York.
I really like how it turned out!
It's from my new favorite thing in the world... Vogue Enfants!!
The pictures from Vogue Enfants look incredible!
When i saw this picture, i knew i would draw it! ;)
I hope you like it.

Also, it's my brother's 27th birthday today!
Go follow him on twitter! ;)
His name on there is @David_Roberts_
And finally got an Igor + André twitter account too.
Click here to check it out :)

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The Chictopia 10 Social Influence Summit + After Party

Check out the rest of the Images on my Image Diary

Well, good afternoon my friends,
Finally sorted the pictures into the right folders,
and now been making my way through the folders and picking out the images i like! ;)
Ok! So, my time in New York...
where do i begin?
Well, on the first full day in New York,
My brother & I headed out to the Chictopia 10.
For those who know me,
you know i'm deathly afraid of public speaking.
I'm so terrified of public speaking that in high school
i would not go to school the days of speeches so i wouldn't have to give the speech.
So with that said, i've been excited, but nervous for the Chictopia Summit.
Luckily, i was on a panel with Taghrid Chaaban & Liz Cherkasova who were both wonderful.
It took me till about the end of the discussion to start relaxing.
Thank you, all who were there and thank you for your kind words and great questions.
After our panel was done, Rebecca The Clothes Horse and Judy Aldridge of Atlantis Home ( Jane of Sea of Shoes' mom) came on as the second panel.
It was a wonderful discussion, super interesting.
The Summit was a great success!
It was full of fascinating discussions, and it was wonderful meeting all of you & great hanging out
and catching up with alot of you i haven't seen in way too long of a time!
I wish we could have stayed there way longer cause it was so good seeing you all.
After that my friend Jenna Sauers (Jezebel) & Ryan & Alice, and Dan & Rhetta met up with us at the Chictopia Afterparty.
We had such a good time!
It was definitely one of the highlights on the trip.
i hope you like the pictures, more are coming :)

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Paying Respects Lee Alexander McQueen

Hey, friends, well I'm finally back home!
Oh boy, it was some trip.
Dave & I had such a good time.
I started sorting though over 20 gigs of files,
but I thought I would start with a post Paying Respects to Lee Alexander McQueen.
I had packed a print of this painting tribute to McQueen,
and the first day we were in New York,
my Brother and i went and got the print framed.
Then two mornings later David & I met up with Ryan & Alice,
and walked to the McQueen Store.
We arrived to a touching seen of roses, drawings, and letters laid across the store front window,
with people standing sobered in front of the store.
We stood silently there for a few minutes,
Alice had tears in her eyes.
I walked up and leaned the framed portrait at the base of the window.
Then we silently walked away.

Later the next day someone twitpic-ed me a picture of the store front,
and to my amazement the portrait got put in the window display of the store.
It was really the most humbling experience ever.
It really meant so much.
I was speechless, and still kinda am speechless.
But I thought I would share that story as my first post since New York Fashion Week.
I've missed you all so much,
I'm hoping to get all caught up this week and I want to get back to you all on your wonderful comments...
Just give me a little more time! :)


P.s. Thank you so much to Sketchbook Magazine for the interview & also to Kristen May Lee of the Fashion Spot for the Interview :)

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W Hotel VIP Lounge Sketch

Hey, friends, how are you?
Wow! The last few days have been bleeding into one.
I've seen so many friends, so many amazing collections, and also met so many amazing people.
Don't worry, detailed accounts are coming!
I mean, I have already shot 15 gigs of images and files and still have 2 days left...
Haven't had enough time to sort through all the files!
I can't wait to tell you all about Chictopia 10 (which was amazing), the IFB Conference, Charlotte Ronson, Tony Cohen, Chris Benz!
Oh, so much to tell you about.
My brother & I spent alot of time hanging out with Mattias (Bloglovin Founder), Carolina (Fashionsquad), and Camille (Childhood Flames), also my friends Ryan & Alice.

But today we decided to take it down a notch and have a laid back day of no shows, just hanging out and getting work done.
So the W Hotel was nice enough to invite us over to hang in the VIP lounge which is backstage in the tents in Bryant Park.
Which was amazing cause i've been dying going without drawing for this many days!
So i sketched this picture today!
And painted the hair with my coffee... haha

Oh, and to my amazement, when my brother and i where about to leave, guess who walked in???
Alexa Chung!!! I know, right!?
So my brother talked me in to introducing myself...
which i usually never do...(cause I'm pretty shy)
but somehow i mustered up enough courage to say hello.
And I'm so glad I did, she is truly an amazing person!
So sweet and wonderful!
She was so nice :)
It basically made my year ... It was incredible...

I will keep you posted on the rest of my time here!
Hope you're having a wonderful day.

p.s. Alexa Chung, if you read this, thank you so much for being so kind! It really means a lot! :)

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Valentines Day + Tony Cohen

Hey friends!
So, things have been incredibly busy!
But So Far NY Fashion Week Has Been amazing! :)
I just went to Tony Cohen with my brother David and our New Zealand/America friend Jenna Sauers from the site Jezebel
who we just met a few days ago through Miss Sophie Ward!
As you can hopefully see from the photos, the collection was incredible!
I couldn't believe we got to sit front row at Tony Cohen & Charlotte Ronson's shows.
It's like nothing i've ever experienced.
Seeing the collections that close is so inspiring.
The collection was very fitting for Valentine's Day with an array of red and black.
It was full of beautiful textures and a simple color pallet.

Well, much more is coming... still sorting through images.
But right now, we are off to Sophie Ward's Valentine's Day party, then going to a few after parties...
I have it from a good source that Nina Persson, from the Cardigans, will be DJing at one...
If that is true, i might die of happiness! ;)
Hope you all are doing great.


P.S. the Girls In Glasses Shirt is now on ASOS.com! Go Check it out, if you want to! :)

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Declaration of Romantic Intent

Hey Friends!
Happy Valentine's Day!
It was wonderful meeting alot of you yesterday at the Chictopia 10 Summit!
My bags finally arrived!
And this trip has been a blast!
I'm going to have a post up purely deadicated to NY Fashion Week.
But right now, slept in a little late and have to get running.
Well, since it is Happy Valentine's Day,
and i already gave you the valentine,
I thought i would post this "Declaration of Romantic Intent".
i've seen it moving throughout the internet lately,
and i don't know who created it, but i thought it was genius!
So take it, fill it out and pass it on!
Share the love...
Happy Valentine's Day!

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NYC & The Chictopia 10 Conference

Hello From New York.
My brother and i are currently getting settled in at the Bryant Park Hotel.
I love this place, it's a pretty wonderful place.
But on a bad note...
The airlines misplaced both of our bags... hahh
i know, quite a week,
First, we had our flight canceled cause of weather,
and now they lose our bags...
i sure hope they arrive,
cause not sure what i'm going to do...
going to Charlotte Ronson's Show tonight...
haha i hope my bags arrive.

On a different note, tomorrow i'm speaking on a panel at the Chictopia10 Social Influence Summit.
I'm excited and a little nervous.. Never really done anything like this before...
but it should be fun. There will be a lot of my fellow blogging buddies there.
The painting above is one i did for the Chictopia10 Social Influence Summit.
They made tote bags of them and will be handing them out for free at it. :)
The painting is of my lovely friend Louise Ebel of the blog Pandora.
She is one of my favorite bloggers so i thought she would be perfect for it!
I hope you like it.
If you want one Chictopia will be selling them on their site.

Thank you all for the kind comments on the McQueen Tribute Painting.
I'm hoping to leave a copy of it at the McQueen store tomorrow.

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Alexander McQueen Tribute

Well, my friends, today is one of the saddest days in Fashion.
It was like getting a punch in the stomach when i rolled out of bed this morning,
and read that Alexander McQueen was dead.
It still hasn't fully sunk in.
i think i'm hoping against hope that it was a false report,
but deep down, i know it's not...

He was by far my favorite designer and one of my biggest sources for inspiration.
I don't think there was a collection that he has done that my mind wasn't completely blown...
I did a tribute painting of him.
I just wanted to express my appreciation to a true genius,
and pay honor to him with this piece.
R.I.P Alexander McQueen.

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Will You Be My Valentine?

Download Full Page Valentine 1.8 mb
Download Quarter Page Valentine 1.9 mb

Ok Friends, don't worry, i haven't lost my mind...
I know it's not Valentine's Day...
But i thought i would paint a valentine for yawl,
but also, i though it would be cool to give you it early so you can download & print and share the love!
Yep, yep, that is your homework assignment, give this Valentine to someone you care for, or love, or have a crush on! :)

p.s. i made the box the size of the mini Nerds box... cause those are the best V-day candy! :)


P.s.s if you want to download other Valentines i've made over the years, just click here to see them :) .... yea, i like making valentines... haha

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Valentine's Day Edition of Inspiration Friday on Saturday

Hey Friends,
Wow, i can't believe New York Fashion Week is right around the corner!
My brother and I fly out in 4 days! How crazy is that!
I have some clothes arriving and have a fitting tomorrow!
I'm really really excited to see how they turned out!

Also, I wish i could show you a few paintings i did for some clients this week,
but i can't yet... just wait. It's coming out soon! :)
Also, sorry i didn't post this inspiration friday yesterday...
but i guess, here it is.
This series of images i put together for the inspiration book for the collaboration art project i'm doing.
I'm sorry i don't know who the photographers who took the images are..
I do know that one of the paintings is by an incredible painter named "Joe Sorren"
I hope you like the images!
i hope you're doing great :)

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