First painting for Esprit, Gent, Belgium.

ESPRIT asked me to make 3 paintings for the ESPRIT store in Gent, Belgium.
They made a beautiful store concept which is totally different than how the store looked before.
It gives you a livingroom feeling with a lot of natural elements.  I brought the pastel and natural colours back into the paintings.

 After I gave the background a minty green and soft nude colour, I sketched my design with some colourpencils. I save the background colours in transparent boxes that I can close afterwards, so it's easy to use it again.

The painting is 1.70 x 1.70 cm / 5,57 feet.

After I painted the first layers with acrylic paint, I paint with oilpaint to smoothen everything out, and give it more depth. I love oilpaint, since it stays wet much longer, so you can add more details to the painting.

 Close-up.

Close-up.  I like it when there's a little contrast in the painting of soft shapes and hard lines like I did here with the posca marker.

 Close-up. Some parts are a little more rough, not so smooth and silky.

 Close-up.

First painting for Esprit, finished.

New prints for sale!

If you order a print before april 15th 2012 you will receive two prints! Send an email to info@marjoleincaljouw.nl to let me know which one you want to order next to your other print.

You can also subscribe to my newsletter, so you can order as soon as I have new prints in the shop: http://marjoleincaljouw.nl/SUBSCRIBE
"Secret"
€70,- (around 92,- USD)
Size: 29,7 cm x 42 cm /11,7" x 16,5 "
Media: Fine print on heavy weight paper. Limited edition of 50 prints, signed and numbered.

* Price is without frame, tax, bankcosts and shippingcosts.

 "Exhale"
€50,- (around 66,- USD)
Size: 29,7 cm x 21 cm /11,7" x 8,3 "
Media: Fine print on heavy weight paper. Limited edition of 50 prints, signed and numbered.

* Price is without frame, tax, bankcosts and shippingcosts.

 "Gemma"
€50,- (around 66,- USD)
Size: 29,7 cm x 21 cm /11,7" x 8,3 "
Media: Fine print on heavy weight paper. Limited edition of 50 prints, signed and numbered.

* Price is without frame, tax, bankcosts and shippingcosts.

 "Oscar de la Renta"
€70,- (round 92,- USD)
Size: 29,7 cm x 29,7 cm /11,7" x 11,7 "
Media: Fine print on heavy weight paper. Limited edition of 50 prints, signed and numbered.

* Price is without frame, tax, bankcosts and shippingcosts.

 €50,- (around 66,- USD)
Size: 29,7 cm x 21 cm /11,7" x 8,3 "
Media: Fine print on heavy weight paper. Limited edition of 50 prints, signed and numbered.

* Price is without frame, tax, bankcosts and shippingcosts.

Small preview of Mural Esprit Amsterdam and sketchbook update

Red pencil and ballpoint on Moleskine paper in my sketchbook.
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This is a short update about my projects of last months. I was working on a wallpainting in the Esprit store in Amsterdam. Here are some items that I used in the wallpainting. On the left I'm drawing on top of the sketch with black fineliner. On the right you can see a sketch.
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2 birds. Fineliner, ballpoint on paper.
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Several items.
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Little close-up of the mural in the Esprit store in Amsterdam.
This is just a small preview I will post more soon.

Wallpainting/Mural & sketchbook update

 These last weeks I've been working on a wallpainting in a store. It's almost finished, so the update of the total walldesign will be coming soon after the opening. Here's a sneak preview.

Here I'm sitting on a double scaffolding, the construction builders made it all happen. I have to say that it was quite scary to paint there, but after a while sitting/standing there, I could find my flow while listening to some music.

 Pencil, coloured pencil on paper.

My elephant teapot, so happy that I found that.

Long days, short pencils.

I've bought this great encyclopedia for reference pictures. It's very useful for my new paintings. The shapes and colours inspire me to variate with leafs, colours etc.

Sketchbook

Pencil, acrylics, colourpencils and fineliner on paper.

 Close-up.

While I'm waiting somewhere or traveling I love to sketch in my sketchbook. Nothing planned, without a concept or anything. A lot of times I can use those sketches for other projects, because the spontanity brings new ideas.

Close-up.  

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Pencils, ballpoint on paper. 

 Close-up.

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I start often with a red pencil because they are much softer than the graphite (but not so easy to erase) I like to draw on top of it with graphite.

This sharpner is so cute, bought it at Harolds.

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Oscar de la Renta fashion illustration

Oscar de la Renta, acrylics and (colored pencils) and pastel on Arches hotpress watercolourpaper.
30x30 cm.

Rough sketch, pencil on paper, 21 x 25 cm.

Photo's made by: Team Peter Stigter. http://www.teampeterstigter.com/

Designer: Oscar de la Renta

When I saw these outfits made by Oscar de la Renta, I was blown away. Especially the left one is so beautiful, with the doll-face and everything in white, with the combination of textures, just: perfect.  I started to make an illustration with these outfits.

Under the photo on the site of Peter Stigter was written about (fake) fur and I wondered if these outfits were fake/real...Well, they have all kind of soft accesoires made from fox fur and rabbit fur on their site. Very dissapointing and uneccessary. More and more fashion designers are developing garments using fake fur. Prada, Vivienne Westwood, Victoria secret, Miu Miu, Michael Kors, Roberto Cavalli. Karl Lagerfeld even made a whole line!
I usually don't make statements with my illustrations. It's not that I wanted to make one, but when I was drawing, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. So if this is my first illustration with a statement ever...? So be it. To all the free furry animals!

2011 recap.

I always like to take a little look back at the last 12 months at the end of the year.  I'm kind of surprised... yes I am. The variety of projects, the amount of illustrations, I thought that it wasn't that much. I am so thankful for all the upportunities I've got. I also really enjoyed all the comments, questions...more than 330 people joined last year, whether it's on my blog, Facebook, Twitter etc. and I think that's great.

Here's a summary of 2011:
I've painted  2 objects, a Gerrit Rietveld Chair (didn't post the pictures yet) and a bracelet. I've made several dessins for Oilily, did some business illustrations, made 2 weddingcards and a weddinglogo, of course some fashion illustrations and fashion headers, a fashion invitation, 2 bookcovers from Jay Swanson http://vitalischronicles.com/ (still working on the second one). And made 2 handpainted wallpaper as you may know, one for Ludwig II in Amsterdam (I also made the logo) and the another wallpainting for the creative director of ID&T and his wife.

Personal projects:
I've also worked on personal projects, like I've joined the sketchbookproject with 30 sketches and collage, I made a promotional calendar, did some feminine illustrations and made 3 paintings (big, middle and small size)

Other nice stuff:
I did some interviews, sold prints, was featured on the Bjorn Borg site, Juxtapoz and several other sites,  published in Jackie and Publish and joined Shop Around (Agency). What is also very exciting is that I've joined www.illustrationage.com as an assistant editor. Oh... and I changed my website design: www.marjoleincaljouw.nl

What's unforgettable is that I met James Jean (again ^-^ ), the artdirector of Pixar and Viktor and Rolf. These are incredible creative and inspire me to work harder, better, faster, stronger!

Fashion Week Illustree

Bjorn Borg, pencil and Photoshop.

Commes Des Leroy, pencil and Photoshop.

Soapbubbles, pencil and Photoshop.

Exhale, pencil and Photoshop.

Swan, Pencil and color pencil on paper.

Beetle, pencil on paper.

Dior fragrance, pencil and Photoshop.

Secret, acrylics and oilpaint on wood.

Flowerqueen, pencil and color pencil on paper.

I entered "Fashion Week Illustree" so I'm posting a few of my fashion illustrations all together for the vote.