inspiration

part of the reason i left this blog over a year ago was because i felt disconnected from my art & i couldn't appreciate anything that i made. it discouraged me, so i stopped creating. i kept telling myself i was going through an "artist's block" and that it would pass...

over the summer, my sweet boy, brian, brought me a fresh bouquet of wild flowers from the farmer's market. besides the fact that there was no special occasion, it really resonated with me in a different way. i can't explain the feeling, but i suddenly felt so inspired by these flowers that i felt the need to do something about it. i needed to capture their colors & life. so i painted.

i spent the whole afternoon & evening infront of the still life i set up; sketching, painting, and studying the colors, patterns, & designs. finally, i was happy with the end result... and that was the encouragement i needed to keep going!

so thank you, brian, for that first bouquet of flowers that helped me out of my creative rut... & thanks, pierre, for being the cutest photo prop :)

now let me ask you, where do you find inspiration? what gets you out of an artist's block?

xo, g

interview with typographie vintage

so... it's been a while since i've been on this blog. i miss it & have thought about starting up again. i think what has given me that motivation is the fact that i am actually creating new art for myself. it's been a struggle since graduating college, but i feel like i have found my "niche," or whatever... i want to create and i want to share it with you again!

recently i collaborated with my friend elizabeth, from typographie vintage. she asked me to create a new banner for her blog, and i happily agreed! she also interviewed me about my art and process... you can read it over here!

i will share more pictures of my process at a later time, but i did want to stop in and say hello!

xo, g

a goodbye of sorts

hello there,

so... this is going to be my last post on this good old blog, at least for a while...

i've been in quite the 'creative block' rut for a long time now. it's been hard for me to create things that i'm proud of since graduating from school, which is almost 2 years now.

however, moving to a new town has been great for my inspiration. having a clean slate to start over with will be good for me, and hopefully my art. my new town has really resonated with me in such a way that suddenly everything that was happening started to make sense, and i finally feel ready and confident to start my own artistic adventure

my new blog is going to be called 'oh september' and it will feature a lot of my own drawings, photos and thoughts. and since tomorrow is my birthday, i hope to have it up and ready by then! (although, i'm without internet, so who knows...)

i already have tons of ideas that i would love to share with you and i hope that you'll continue to follow me on my new journey!

~

on another note, i spontaneously responded to leah goren's callout for an intern, since i could use a little studio experience while getting back in to screen printing.

the job would entail block printing cats on fabric for her super cute cat dress that she sells on etsy. i'm really excited to meet her and start making cute things!

so yeah, stayed tuned for 'oh september' and my cat dress adventure!

xo,
gabrielle

seeing double

happy friday! i'm excited it's the end of the week, as always.

this week started off pretty sour... monday night i fainted and bumped {slammed} my face into a doorway so i've been recuperating with lots of ice and advil. thankfully i'm feeling much better, but it was really scary, so i'm trying to take it easy now.

this week i've also been working on drawing more realistic faces, which always turns into self portraits. no matter how hard i try i can only draw myself. so here are 2 self portraits from my sketchbook.

i should also note that these were scanned with my brand new all-in-one printer! i'm extremely happy with the scanner part, which is mainly the reason i splurged on such a nice one. so look out for more original works! i think having a scanner is definitely going to encourage me to draw more and rework things i've already done! :)

have a lovely weekend!

gabrielle

garden ladies

i noticed a little trend in the london illustrator world. two of my favorite young artists, emma block and clare owen, have done illustrations of pretty ladies tending to their window box gardens. i love seeing how different artists interpret the same theme.

i thought these were too gorgeous not to share, so here are both illustrations from emma and clare, respectively.

gabrielle

illustrated cameras

Hey there! I finally have enough energy to blog now that the busy weekend is over and I'm finally in air conditioning! Woohoo

I had a great weekend going back home. It was especially nice spending time with my family, doing yoga in the park (while my bro played bongos!) and going to my old childhood friend's wedding! Really exciting. Pictures to come (crossing my fingers the film pics turn out well!)

Anyways... as you may know, Matthew and I have started our own blog called Smooth Sailing. We like posting photos we take together and we're even starting some new & exciting projects!

Here's an illustration that I drew of both our cameras! It was fun to compare the differences between them. New + old love... camera friends forever!

Hope you like it! I hope to do more illustrations like these soon :)

Stay cool! xoxo

-gabrielle

hats for kate illustration

Hey there! Happy Friday & especially happy Canada day (that exists?)

In honor of Will & Kate visiting Canada, I volunteered to illustrate one of the hats from HatsforKate.ca for Amelia's Magazine, which features high-fashion Canadian themed hats for Kate to hypothetically wear on her trip to Canada.

The one I chose was "Tar & Feathers." I had a lot of fun creating this piece. I chose to use my drawing tablet so this is a pretty new style for me. I think I like it :)

Check it out here on Amelia's Magazine!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and a safe 4th of July!!! <3

g.

what i wore: first day of summer

As you may or may not know, Gemma Corell's "What I Wore Today" blog/Flickr group is now becoming a book!

She asked all doodlers to contribute their best "what I wore" drawing and she will select some to have published in her book.

Of course, typical me waits til the last day of the contest to enter... I spent a lot of time on this drawing but unfortunately all the little details I love are lost in the image. I also used the crappy work scanner, so this is definitely not the best represenation, but I do like the simplicity and semi-realism I have going on.

What do you think? Did anyone else participate in the contest?

What I Wore: First Day of Summer:
H&M sunnies
Rosebud salve
Gold tree necklace from Nyack
Orange silky tank
NY&CO flowy watercolor skirt
Dunkin iced coffee
Essie nailpolish
Tan satchel
Target platform sandals

Also, if you can see it, I have a sketchbook in my drawing that has this drawing in it. It's like a drawing within a drawing...

Have a good weekend & happy summer!

-gabrielle.

H-E- triple hockey sticks

In honor of Father's Day, my co-worker Marcie asked if I could illustrate her three boys in a portrait!

She has older twins and a little boy. It was my first time drawing children (& twins!) but I think I captured their individuality really nicely.

Marcie and her husband are from Montreal, so naturally they are a big hockey family :)

I'm really pleased with the way it came out. I feel a lot more comfortable drawing from pictures now and I even see improvement from when I first started!

If you like what you see, you can check out my Etsy store and order your own personalized portrait!

-gabrielle.

emmy the great illustration

Hey hey! I'm super excited today because this week I responded to a Twitter callout via Amelia Gregory, who runs the fabulous illustration blog Amelia's Magazine.

This week she needed a few illustrations for some upcoming articles, and I jumped on the opportunity. She needed an illustration for an article about the singer Emmy the Great. I listened to her while drawing the portrait and I absolutely loved her! She's very folk-y and has a beautiful voice.

This is the illustration I created, using Micron pens & watercolors. I somehow completed it in one night! That's definitely the fastest thing I've ever done haha...

Check out the article here!

This week I'm also working on a custom portrait of my co-worker's 3 sons for father's day. I will be posting that soon!

Stay tuned! Have a great day :)

-gabrielle.

introducing 'smooth sailing'

Good morning! Isn't it beautiful outside today? I thought so too :)

I want to introduce my new collaboration with my friend Matthew Alexander.

We are always inspiring each other and now that we started working together, we thought it would be nice to have a space on the internet to show our work.

So without further ado... please check out our new website called "Smooth Sailing." We will be posting lots of photos, drawings and little stories to go with each of our pieces. 

Here's a little peek at what's there now, but we will be updating the site regularly!

Be sure to check it out and read our About Us page :)

-gabrielle.

alex & angelo

Hey everyone! Long time no... blogging.

I hope you all had a fantastic long weekend/Memorial day! I was happy to have an extra day off so I could play in the sun all weekend! It was great.

Today I'm showing you another portrait of my friend Alex and her boyfriend Angelo. She was actually my first sale on Etsy since I added them to the shop!

She asked if I could include her little goldfish too, which I thought was so cute! They look like a happy little family, haha.

I also wanted to show you the framed version of Katie and Gary's portrait! It looks really nice and I can't wait to see where they put it!

Don't forget that Father's Day is just around the corner! 

Be sure to place your custom portrait orders soon! 

www.gabriellebrittney.etsy.com

-gabrielle.

sketches & work in progress

Sorry to reblog this again, but Blogger decided to take down yesterday's post that I wrote :( Here's a shorter recap...

Most nights this week have been spent in bed drawing with my lap desk. It's really convenient and super comfy.

This is a drawing I did one night. I hope to recreate it larger, with lots more flowers!

I also finished up my commissioned portrait, that you can take a peek of in the pictures below.

I've also been having a ton of fun on Instagram! You can follow me here!

Hope you like 'em!

Happy Friday the 13th!

-gabrielle.

happy mother's day

Hello! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and a special Mother's Day (if you celebrate!)

I had a great weekend (which will have to be it's own post.) However, on Sunday I came home and hung out with my mum while she planted flowers...I just watched :)

Little did she know I was actually painting an illustration for her! And here it is!

She really loved it which made me super happy.

Here you go, Mommy! I love you so much <3 I hope you had a great Mother's Day :)

-gabrielle.

maggie and matt's portrait

Hey there!

I finished this piece a while ago but I forgot to share it... oops!

My college friend (and now co-worker!) Maggie and her boyfriend recently moved in together to their new apartment! I'm really happy for both of them, and as a house-warming present I drew their portraits!

I think they were both very pleased and I can't wait to visit their new abode and see it hung up!

Don't forget to visit my new Etsy shop where I am selling custom portraits!

Stay tuned for more updates :)

-gabrielle.

christy & louie

Hi everyone!

Here's a portrait I did of my best friend Christy and her little puppy Louie.

Christy has been my friend since 3rd grade and we've basically been inseparable ever since.

In middle school we would have sleepovers on Friday the 13th (we were very silly & strange...) The next one coming up is in May and we're planning on reading all our notes that we've collected throughout middle and high school. It's gonna be hilarious! I can't wait.

Christy also just got a puppy, Louie, and he's the cutest thing ever... he loves his little green sweater.

Click on the picture to visit my custom portrait shop... you can have one too!

-gabrielle.

josh & otto

Morning there! I hope you all had a wonderful (& hopefully long!) weekend.

I wanted to share a portrait I made for my brother a little while ago. It's of him and our dog Otto that recently passed away.

I thought it would be the perfect gift for him to remember the good times he had with Otto.

-gabrielle.

portrait illustrations: me & matthew

Hello hello!

Here is something that I was working on all last week. It's a little illustration of Matthew and I!

(scroll down to read the exciting news!)

COMING SOON 

I will be revamping my Etsy website, which will include CUSTOM PORTRAITS!!!

You will be able to purchase these hand drawn pen and watercolor illustrations from my Etsy shop... all you will have to do is message me images of the people and the personalizations that you want to include, such as favorite clothes, hair, accessories, etc. and I will draw up your personalized portrait!

I'll be selling a range of options, such as single, couple, family, and can even include pets! These portraits will make the best gifts for those special people in your life :)

Check back later for more information and details... or follow my TWITTER for real-time updates :)

In the meantime, I will be posting examples that I have done for my family and friends so you can get an idea of the style they'll be in!

Have a happy Monday :)

-gabrielle.

photodump

Hey hey lovelies!

I'm sticking to my goal of drawing and painting more, and I've actually been drawing a lot lately!!! It's such a great feeling. I've been in a rut for a while and I think I'm finally coming out of it.

I have a lot of new things to share, but you will just have to wait a little longer!

In the meantime, here is my weekend in pictures :)

painting and drawing on a Friday night... it's what the cool kids do.

Lunch at Lulu's on Sunday... so cute!

Treated myself to a delicious red velvet cupcake :)

Ritu is the birthday girl! I hope she doesn't see this before her present arrives!

Hope you like them!

-gabrielle.

sketchbook

Mornin'! I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Here are a few pictures taken from my sketchbook. The March seemed to be my month for drawing faces and figures... here are 2 that I especially love. I hope you like them!

I will start posting my most recent drawings here this week! Get excited!

-gabrielle.