bits & pieces

here are some bits and pieces of my days... i just got a new lens for my camera so i'm super excited to be taking more pictures and then sharing little pieces of my life with you!

1. bought myself roses to cure a bad day
2. my crazy cat, pierre.
3. making lots of tea these days to get through this winter
4. little paintings on wooden pins
5. a falafel sandwich and red wine on a sunday afternoon

i hope you enjoyed this peek into my life.

xo, g

taiim cellar

yesterday i had the opportunity to take some photos for a local newspaper for the opening of taiim cellar! it's a new middle-eastern wine bar a few towns over from where i live. it's very beautiful inside, but the food is even better!

after i took pictures, i ate a great meal consisting of feta beet salad, masabacha hummus with fresh pita, a falafel sandwich and a big glass of red wine.

if you are in the area, i would highly suggest it!

xo, g

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

it's a good thing for great design

it's been a long weekend... i've been really busy setting up my new apartment, which i moved into last weekend.

so far i absolutely LOVE it! although, last night i didn't sleep a wink because my mind was racing about all fix-me-up-DIY projects i have in mind!

it's a terrible thing, wanting to create everything you can't love but afford... (re: anthropologie*)

anyways, it's a good thing for great design. clothing company a.p.c. is now making it super easy to shop exactly what you're looking for. beautifully organized by color & style, this layout is perfect for the online shopper that just realized it's already the middle of september, and last season's autumn clothes just aren't cutting it... oh!... moi?

what are you waiting for! take a look. your eyes will thank you. wallet, not so much...

also, please stay tuned this week (my birthday week!) for the 'unveiling' of my new blog! i'm really trying to take this little bloggie to the next level. i can't wait to show you!

g*b

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

time for schvitzing & noshing

happy friday! let's end the week off right, with some great summery vintage-inspired posters from ma + chr, a parisian design team.

do you have any plans for the weekend?

i am ending my work week with some frosty mojitos and fresh guacamole at our little office party. sometimes office life can be exciting... hah.

on saturday i'm venturing to the city with my brother to meet up with our cousins. we are spending the morning at a russian-turkish bath house and afterwards going out for a fancy ukranian lunch. i'm looking forward to shvitzing, noshing, and spending time with family :)

gabrielle

{inspired by} amy merrick

hello! maybe you've seen this around the blogosphere, but if not, here's an amazing website for the talented brooklyn florist, amy merrick.

amy's flower arrangements and styling are incredibly beautiful and gorgeous. she uses a variety of colors and incorporates a range of flowers, foliage, fruits and branches to decorate her tablescapes.

the website has been beautifully constructed with amazing photography; it makes you want to reach out and grab them off your screen!

take a look at the website here, and check out her wonderful blog as well!

gabrielle

my first estate sale

good morning and happy monday!

i wanted to share with you some little things i found at an estate sale this weekend. it was my first time going to an estate sale so i didn't know what to expect. it was an incredibly old house filled with soooo many books in every room. 

the house was originally a campsite for general washington in the 1700's and then was converted into a train station in the 1880's. i thought the history of the house and the lot it was built on were so incredible. unfortunately i forgot to take pictures!

however i did take pictures of the $7 worth of things i found. the first is vintage italian drawing paper that's in perfect condition. there must be about 30 sheets in there, with 'raffaello' embossed onto each sheet... pretty fancy! i'm super excited to start sketching!

i also found a cute gold hair clip, two little clutches for holding tiny things in my purse, and a vintage copy of james joyce's 'a portrait of the artist as a young man,' a book that i was told by my philosophy-major friend that i would definitely enjoy. last summer i started joyce's 'ulysses' but it's a hard read and i never finished it. maybe reading the first novel will help me get through it!

hope everyone had a great weekend...  here's to an easy monday :)

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