I Draw

So I wanted to show a little bit of what I worked on while studying abroad. My main love is drawing, so I took a fashion illustration class here, even though I've already taken several at the University of Cincinnati (with Randy!). Here in Italy I had a teacher named Franca. She only speaks about 10 words of English but you learn so much by just watching her. She really wanted me to loosen up my drawings because I always try to make things perfectly realistic. But fashion drawing is a lot looser than that, so she gave me great advice. Hope y'all enjoy.

I did both of those two before I came to Italy, but they're the type of thing I love doing. They're just pictures from magazines that I illustrated. 

Franca would assign us different collections every week. My two favorites were childrenswear and wedding. I never get sick of it!

These two were designs that I actually made for my sewing class. I like the illustrations better than the actual clothes though! 

By the way- These are all my original designs, please don't steal them. 

The Water Lilies

Claude Monet was an Impressionist painter popular in the 1910s-1920s and ever after. When I was in Paris, I went to the Musee de l'Orangerie by myself, because Joel had already gone by this point. I wish he could have come, because I think he would have loved it. Stage one of the museum was designed by Monet himself. Monet donated The Water Lilies to France right after the first World War, because he wanted to give Parisians a peaceful haven by inviting them to contemplate the infinite before painted nature. The first room is completely white; its purpose is to allow visitors to "decompress" before entering Monet's work.

The first room was designed from 1914 until Monet's death in 1926 and are inspired by the water garden at his property Giverny. Monet focuses his attention on the rhythm of light variations. There is little outside perspective, the elements of water, air, sky and earth gives "the illusion of an endless whole, of a horizonless and shoreless wave."

The second room is distinguished by the presence of weeping willow trees. I found this room to be noticeably more moody, which I loved. I think when you look at a Monet painting up close it becomes very apparent how the artist was feeling at the time. Some brushstrokes are broad and thick, while others are fine and meticulously placed. I admire Monet's ability to take such a massive canvas and just start. I think starting a new work can be the most daunting task, but Monet didn't seem to care. He's also not afraid of color, I think because he understands it so well. All of the observations he did of different times of day and different weather conditions are really amazing and teach you so much about color theory. Smart man! If you're ever in Paris, I HIGHLY recommend going to the Musee de l'Orangerie. It's got Monet's rooms, but it has so much more than just that. Amazing museum right next to the Jardin des Tuileries.