"Right On, Red" in Color

I finally finished coloring this piece! Read about the concept/inspiration here: "Right On, Red"

I'm so happy that it's done :) Please do click the image to view it in higher resolution...there's a lot of detail in there!

101 Reasons continued!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that there are a few selections from 101 Reasons To Shop on my website! Have a peek!
http://www.carlymonardo.com

101 Reasons to Shop

Remember just a few days ago when I said I was often secretly working on things I couldn't share? Well this was a big one!

101 Reasons to Shop was written by Jessica Waldorf, designed by Mary Austin Speaker, published by Harper Collins, and illustrated by yours truly!

As you may know, I'm a closet fashion geek, so spending months immersed in images of couture and runway shows was a fitting use of my time. I spent many a sleepless night working on this project. It's my first book and it was a wonderful and exciting challenge! I'm so thrilled that it is out there in the real world now! Kate Spade even tweeted about it!

You can sneak a peak at the book at the Harper Collins website! I will eventually (and with the author's permission) post some images here as well.

Thanks to everyone who supported and encouraged me throughout this process. Special thanks to Jessica Waldorf, Stephanie Meyers, Danielle Corsetto, George Baier IV, and of course my amazing husband, Christopher Hastings; I couldn't have done this without you!

"Right On, Red"

A lot of the stuff I work on can't be shared while the projects are in development, which often leads to a lot of radio silence over here. So with that in mind, I am throwing this drawing up in its inked stage!

"Right On, Red" is part of the fashion-inspired illustration series I kicked off in my last post. I chose to feature Cacharel's Pre-Fall line (which I lo-o-ove) this time around. I was immediately taken with the bold but simple colors and silhouettes in this collection, and the "story" came to me almost immediately. The title is a nod to Joanna Newsom's "The Book Of Right On", which I didn't hear for the first time until well after the drawing was underway; still it felt like a perfect fit!

I'd like to acknowledge the model who posed for all of the Cacharel shots, whoever she is. Her look was obviously a huge inspiration for the sisters' designs here. I think she's lovely!

Color will follow eventually!

Marc Jacobs In Space

I was having dinner with my friend Stephanie a week or so ago, and we were talking about our careers. I mentioned to her how I love the idea of working on the fringe of the fashion industry...illustrating fashion-related drawings but not doing fashion illustration, per se (though I would do that, too: hint, hint!) She came up with this fantastic idea of taking various designers' collections and illustrating them in a new way. So I started with Marc Jacobs, since he's the first name Steph mentioned, and I tried to create something based on the feelings I got from his 2010 Spring RTW collection. The results are now here for you to see!

Detail shots: