Are you watching Project Runway? Not sure what season this is..... 8, 12, 35? It's still very early so I don't have a favor just yet. What I am thoroughly enjoying is Kosuke Kooan Okawa's magical afro. It's worth tuning in for in my opinion.
Pencil, pen, and ink on 9" x 12" paper.
My lovely reader Laurie had commissioned me to draw the lovely Tim Gunn for her lovely sister Jennifer some time ago. I recently received messages from both lovely sisters that Mr Gunn's book tour had come through Atlanta and Jennifer had taken her drawing to the signing and looky what she sent....
Beautiful all around! Here's a closer look at the drawing...
When I sell a painting or a print or get commissioned to create something I always have a moment of wondering while standing in line at the post office as I'm about to ship it off: will my work be displayed in a home or an office or a home office, will it be matted and framed, will the buyer's friends and family like it ....... But when I sent this piece off I certainly didn't anticipate that it would come face to drawn face with the man himself! And apparently Tim had very nice things to say about the drawing which is icing on a very fabulous cake that has "major wow factor." Thanks Laurie and Jennifer! And thanks Mr Gunn for just being you!
Please stop here if don't want to read what happened on last night's finale of Project Runway. You can't unread what I'm about to write. Ok..... here goes. Joshua with his dramatic eyebrows, Anya with her magical accent that make me feel like I'm on vacation, Victor with his sheer and patterned clothing, and Kimberly with her urban-focused inspiration showed their collections, faced the judges, and one of them was named the winner of Project Runway on last night's show. You can click here to visit the fabulous Blogging Project Runway to see the collections in entirety. I'm curious what you all thought and do you believe the right person won?
Anya all along was one of my favorites with her charming Caribbean accent, spot-on sense of pattern and fabric selection, and personal style. She had only been sewing for something like 4 month prior to the competition and it showed- sort of. We never saw a jacket or properly executed sleeve in any of her designs. But what she did have was an undeniably gorgeous sense of fantasy vacation wear.
Joshua was a rather intriguing character. He's quite a handsome fellow with some of the oddest drawn-on eyebrows seen on a man. His sense of style is all over the place.... some good and some what the f&%K designs but he's always entertaining.
Victor seemed the clear cut winner to me. His outfits were perfectly and I mean perfectly crafted and some of his outfits were simply incredible. That opening piece had a nod to McQueen and I'd love to see someone wearing that. I did think he'd win.
Kimberly, Kimberly, Kimberly..... I think she had some interesting pieces, that cream outfit was beautiful but overall I think she came up a little short.
So who won? In what certainly was a giant upset, Anya in spite on being limited in sewing ability pulled out a victory and I screamed hurray! So happy for her. You can disagree and that's fine but I liked her collection a lot and I'm glad she won. Here's her opening piece.
Just amazing! I drew Anya this morning and here goes my rendition of the winning contestant drawn with pen and ink on 8.5" x 12" hot pressed watercolor paper.
I made her hair morph with the gorgeous fabric she used below.
Congrats to Anya.
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Love, love, love Project Runway! Sure the show fumbled when it relocated to LA that one season which just so happened to be when they switched to Lifetime. Not their best offering for sure. But that's long since past and the current season has plenty of colorful characters to keep us entertained. And certainly the most sparkly, flashy, and daring peacock of them all is Joshua McKinley. He comes from the more sequins, sparkles, and drama the better approach to design. More is more! Leopard shoes with plaid pants--- sure! A corsage on a beautifully draped gown-- oh hell yea! And Joshua isn't one to shy away from controversy--- screw that! That one is all hiss and confrontation. And those eyebrows! Those eyebrows....... It's as though they were generously and precisely cut from black patent leather. Purchased at Mood Fabrics of course. Here's my depiction of the fiercest contestant from season 9.
You do not want to be on the receiving end of that finger. Wait.... that sounds bad. :)
Previous Project Runway recaps can be seen here.
Depiction of Joshua completed with pen and ink on 9" x 12" printmaking paper.
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I really am. I love the all-knowing, silver-haired Project Runway mentor. I wish Tim would come over to my home everyday and give advice on what I'm wearing and critique my my blog posts. Tim could look over my shoulder as I draw one of the NYC housewives and chime in..... "David, talk to me." Tim would say while adjusting his glasses and putting a finger on his chin. "I'm just not sure you made Ramona's eyes crazy enough. Those really need to pop." :)
The seventh season of Project Runway is drawing to a close with the Season Finale airing tonight. It's fitting that one of my readers commissioned me to do a drawing of Tim to give as a gift to a family member. Perfect for a farewell to PR posting.
I used to recap PR but when they moved to LA and switched to Lifetime, I lost interest. Now that they're back in New York where it rightfully belongs- all is restored. Please click here if you'd like to see those previous entries. So as tonight is the finale--- I'm wondering who you all think will win? I personally like Emilio Sosa best. I would just ask that no one reveals the winner in the comment section. Thanks.
Goodbye for now Mr Gunn. Until we see you next season.
Please check out Blogging Project Runway for great photos, recaps, and show info.
Drawing of Tim done with archival micron ink pens on 9" x 12" hot pressed watercolor paper.
xoxo
If someone asked me a couple years what was my favorite reality TV show, well, it would have been an easy answer--- Project Runway. No doubt. But something happened last season with the legal issues causing the delay in airing, the switch to Lifetime, and the regrettable move to LA--- seemed like some of the magic was missing. Sure the fixtures were the same: Heidi, Tim, that bitchy bloated orange queen Michael Kors was unfortunately still stinking up the judging panel, Nina was occasionally there, the celeb guests were a-plenty, there's a Mood Fabrics in LA fortunately which was familiar, but something was off. Maybe the contestants weren't that interesting? Maybe some of the challenges were lame? As a previously hopelessly-devoted fan--- it pained me to watch last season, and I actually didn't even see the last two episodes. I certainly haven't written that show off though. Far from it. One disappointing season out of six is easy to overlook.
I recently was sent some promo material by the people who do web pr for the show and my interest is certainly peaked. They're back where they belong in NYC and show will begin airing Thursday the 14th. I'll be watching. Here's the cast of season 7.....
And a sneak peak from the upcoming season.........
Looks promising! Very promising. For more info on the show, you can click here to go to Project Runway's official website where you'll find cast photos, designers portfolios, and all kinds of goodies. I got so revved up for their return that I made the following collage of some of my drawings from previous seasons.
You can read my previous Project Runway entries here. Here's hoping Season 7 will be a triumphant smash!
If you enjoy looking at my drawings online, the next step would be having one or two or three in your home. Interested? Click on over to my etsy shop and take a gander. And your credit card. :) Much appreciated!The challenge of last week's episode was to design an outfit that could be worn by the US Olympic Team during the open ceremonies. Timely, right? The outfits ranged from- spot on to not even close, but as always, it was great fun watching. Now that we're four episodes in, the contestant's personalities are really coming on strong. There are three, in my opinion, who seem to be getting more attention for their persona than for their designs. Last week I drew third person referrer Suede who I'd place with those three. The other two would be...........
Blayne.
Blayne is a self identified tanorexic who tans every other day. When questioned by Tim Gunn about the amount of time spent doing that, Blayne responded, "Some people go to the gym. I tan." There you have it. As a side note, I lived in Seattle for seven years and will admit to going to a tanning salon twice. Please don't judge me. Around February when you haven't seen the sun in nearly five months, a tanning bed starts seeming like a not so bad choice. It is a bad habit though and hopefully Blayne will kick it.
The other contestant with a memorable personality would be.......
Stella who likes leatha.
Stella is easily one of my favorites. I do like her designs, but even more, I enjoy her been there, done that, give me leather or give me death- attitude. I also love her hard core New York accent where words that end in er sound like they end in the letter a. When she says leatha in stead of leather, I smile. The other thing I like is that during her confessional moments, which is what I drew above, she looks like a completely different person. It's as though she witnessed a fashion crime and was placed in the witness relocation program. During the regular show, she's dressed down and has on barely any makeup however, during her confessionals, she's a glam leatha goddess buried under three inches of eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, and heavily lined lips. I like that no matter what the challenge- she turns in into an opportunity to design a biker babe-ish ensemble. Go get 'em Stella!
As always, be sure and check out Blogging Project Runway for complete updates and news.
Drawings done with ink on paper in about 25 minutes each. Blayne got an additional digital tan. One large glass on Cabernet and my Tivo remote were my assistants. If you enjoy looking at my drawings online, the next step would be having one or two or three in your home. Interested? Click on over to my etsy shop and take a gander. And your credit card. :) Much appreciated!
Is it just me, or did this new season of Project Runway come really fast? I'm certainly not complaining. No! Far from it. I imagine in time, I will definitely come to obsess over this new cast as much I have over previous batches. I was out of the country when the first two episodes aired, so I'm still getting to know this new crew. There's a handful that are standing out. Some for their great designs and some for excelling at the fine art of being annoying. Two contestants seem to be graduates of the Christian Siriano school of trying to be memorable TV personalities. Like.........
Suede.
I have to say, I like what I've seen Suede design. What is really annoying is his constant third person references. It's hard to imagine how even more obnoxious that will become in the following episodes.
The other contestant who is trying really, really, really hard to stand out is Blayne and his "holler at your boy" nonsense.
You know who's not annoying...... Keith.
He's clearly the hunk du season five. Keith is from Salt Lake City and has a quite, smoldering hotness. And from the episode I saw, that woman who looks like Pee Wee Herman was mad that he walked in front of her as she was snapping photos. I want to tell Miss Pee Wee Herman that she's lucky to have photographed the hunky designing bear.
And that's all for now.
Please check Blogging Project Runway for recaps, news, and all things PR. That site is a ton of fun.
To see my drawings from last season, have a look here.
Both drawings are ink on paper done in about twenty minutes each. A bit of digital color added to Suede's faux hawk. And a giant glass of Cabernet helped my sketching abilities.
If you enjoy looking at my drawings online, the next step would be having one or two or three in your home. Interested? Click on over to my etsy shop and take a gander. And your credit card. :) Much appreciated!
I grew up in a house that had only one TV and that one TV had no remote control. Imagine that. So that one remote control-less TV was monopolized by my sports obsessed father. If there was any kind of televised sports competition, my dad would be watching it. He'd cheer, he'd yell at the referee's calls as though they could hear him, and he'd throw pillows at the TV if he was especially pissed. I've never, ever understood the appeal of watching sports. While my dad would be ranting and raving during a game, I'd be in my room either putting makeup on my mannequin or sewing dresses for my cat. Maybe I should be keeping that to myself? So the concept of having a favorite team and cheering them on to victory was pretty foreign to me.
It wasn't until later in life with the introduction of Reality TV that I started to appreciate that idea.
It all started so innocently with the original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. I was hooked on her from the first note and each passing week I clapped, shouted, and at times cried as she rushed down the field of dreams. And when she won American Idol, it was like my team had won the Super Bowl. That's football, right? :)
There have been other Reality TV stars I cheered for but none quite as loudly as I did for Christian Siriano from Project Runway. Here's Christian in a confessional moment after he'd won.
I love how confident, defiant, and fierce he is. I do. I wish there had been people like him on TV when I was a kid.
His collection was phenominal! Here was his first look which was my favorite.
This is guest judge Victoria Beckham. She had this contemplative expression during Christian's runway show. I imagine she's trying to decide which of these outfits she's look best in. I know I had that same look during the show. I'd rock the sh*t out of the above outfit.
The Poshy one even teared up a bit when he was announced as the winner.
Congratulations Christian and a big thank you to BRAVO for supplying us with such amazing entertainment.
As always, make sure to check out Blogging Project Runway for a complete wrap up. If you enjoy looking at my drawings online, the next step would be having one or two or three in your home. Interested? Click on over to my etsy shop and take a gander. And your credit card. :) Much appreciated!
Here's Christian on Regis and Kelly...........
Last night was the reunion show for Project Runway. I was hoping Vicky Gunvalson from The Real Housewives was going to show up and scream at the contestants about wanting more man juice. Or perhaps Paula Abdul would appear on the panel and tell all the contestants that they had joy filled performances. No such luck though. My favorite part of the show was when a texted question was posed to Kevin.
He was asked: "Kevin, are you sure you're not gay?"
Then a montage of clips was shown with Kevin surrounded by nonstop gay action. Tim Gunn had the best quote. He told Kevin, "If being on Project Runway didn't turn you gay, then nothing will."
Here's Kevin's reaction to that montage....
Here was the fan's favorite (and my favorite) Christian. He was also treated to a video montage of him saying fierce. This was Christian's reaction and he also promised to never again say that word on the show........
Can't wait to see the collections. My money's on Christian.
As always, make sure you check out Blogging Project Runway for a great recap.
Ink on paper, done in 20 minutes each. And just a dash of Merlot.
If you enjoy looking at my drawings online, the next step would be having one or two or three in your home. Interested? Click on over to my etsy shop and take a gander. And your credit card. :) Much appreciated!