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

doodles & a friday mix

happy friday!

i can't wait for this weekend, although i don't really have plans. i'm excited to hang out at home and start sketching for ideas that i have for new drawings.

since i've been home, i've been hanging out in my bed from the time i get home from work to the time i fall asleep. lazy, yes... i love sketching in bed with the company of my cat carli while watching shark week documentaries or listening to music. it's the perfect way to relax after a long and stressful day at work :)

here's a little doodle i did last night of just that!

i also wanted to share an awesome mix by the guys of washed out. i've been trying to get my hands on their new album, but haven't had any luck (wanna help a girl out?)

in the meantime, check out this mix! my favorite song from it is "a horse with no shame" by america.

Washed Out - Rough Trade Mix by Abeano on Mixcloud

anyways, have a great weekend!

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

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.

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.

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.

katie & gary's portrait

Good afternoon! Did you enjoy your weekend? I definitely did... it was spent with my best friends from college (Maggie, Leah & Grace) for a surprise birthday party for my friend Katie!

Gary (Katie's boyfriend) successfully organized the whole night. First, we had drinks and dinner at Double O, and then ended the night at Shadow's for more drinks. It was a lot of fun, and best of all Katie was so surprised!

I drew Katie a portrait of her and Gary as her birthday present. They're a super cute couple and I'm so glad that they liked it! I gave it to her in a black frame with a white mat and it looked really awesome :)

Happy birthday Katie! I had so much fun with you (& our mums!) this weekend!

-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.

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.

birthdays & weekend plans

It's Friday!!! I'm so glad it's the end of the week... I'm looking forward to a nice long 4 day weekend!!! This morning I woke up with a little cold, but I'm planning on drinking lots of tea and orange juice so I can enjoy the weekend.

To start off the long break, my friends and I are celebrating my wonderful friend Ritu's birthday tonight!!! We've been friends since first grade! We used to pretend we were Power Rangers when we would play during our recess... ooh, the good old days!

Here is the finished portrait I made for Ritu... she is such the party girl :)

Have a great weekend & happy Easter :)

-gabrielle.

what i wore april 5

Another "What I Wore" drawing! Featuring my new trench-parka-windbreaker that I got on sale last weekend. I love it so :)

Let's just pretend I didn't take over a week to post this...

Have a great Friday & lovely weekend! I hope it is sunny where you are <3

-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.

what i wore april 1

Good afternoon!

I wanted to post a lil drawing I did this weekend... Although it says Friday, I obviously did not wear this to work! But as soon as I got home changed into my favorite Navajo print sweater and put on some thigh high socks. So comfy. Perfect for a Friday night in :)

I hope to continue these drawings and eventually color them in! What do you think?

-gabrielle.

work & weekend

Wow, this week was kinda intense... and snowy!

First of all, I "officially" started my job as a real full-time employee on Tuesday! Yey! I know I keep saying that it's official, but Tuesday was my official, official day... so that was a nice start to the week!

I also have been super busy with some freelance projects... I wish one of them would end already, though.

I've been knitting away at my shawl/wrap that I started, it's coming along nicely :) Pictures soon, maybe?

And I have also been using my drawing tablet that I got for the holidays. I love it so much, I'm almost addicted to it! I can't wait to post some of the things I've been doing.

Finally... last week I bought a super comfy Navajo print tunic from UO, and I've been living in it since. I love this picture, which reminds me of it, and how much I want to be comfy!!!

via myotherroom.blogspot.com

I can't wait for the weekend so I can be warm and cozy...

Happy weekend!

-gabrielle.

{inspired by} kings & queens

Hey there strangers. I'm sorry I've been absent for a while... but the new year has been super busy!

I've been working a lot on some freelance projects, and in my spare time from that I have been trying to recuperate from a cold; AKA drinking lots of tea and working on my {what seems to be} never ending knitting project...

I wanted to share a couple awesome illustrations by the fashion illustrator Anne Charlotte Menegaux. I especially love her set of playing cards... more specifically the kings and queens. Aren't they clever?! I'm in love!

I hope this weekend to be back on my normal blogging schedule, as well as bringing you a very belated New Years mixtape and show you some of the work I've been doing too! Cheers!

-gabrielle.

{illustration friday} winter

Hey there! I hope everyone on the East Coast is enjoying the massive blizzard we had. I'm making the most out of it; playing on my tablet for hours on end. My flight to California was delayed 2 days, so I'm pretty bummed...

Since this week's Illustration Friday topic is winter, I decided to illustrate my unfortunate situation, which turned out pretty good I think! So there's me, my cat, and my god-awful suitcase that I have to lug around {it has hot pink lips all over it... doesn't quite match my pretty toile carry-on.} Also this could be counted as a "what I wore" post too, since I basically wear that sweater every day.

click image to enlarge! or view on flickr

Hopefully I will be leaving Tuesday morning!!! Wish me luck. Good luck to any one else out there who has to travel as well...

See you in the new year!

-gabrielle

{illustration friday} mail

Hi there.

This week I attempted drawing something for Illustration Friday. Then a lot of unexpected things happened on the homefront so I didn't have much time to finish it up :(

However, I did start using my Wacom Bamboo pen/tablet for this, and let me tell you... I absolutely LOVE it! It's the best thing and I know I will be using it all the time.

So here's my drawing for Illustration Friday. The topic was "mail."

Hope you like, despite it being slightly unfinished. Maybe I'll get around to finishing it up one day :)

-gabrielle.

a little drawing

Something from my sketchbook that I scanned... I'm in the mood to draw girls lately.

Have a happy weekend!

-gabrielle

ps. What do you think of the new banner, ey? I felt the need for change.