I've moved!

I've packed up my paints and moved to a new blog! Please visit often! My new address is:

inslee.net/blog

Happy September

can't believe its September already... I'm so excited for the change in seasons. I may be jumping the gun but I swear I saw some red leaves this morning.

Self Portrait

Ok I admit, this is a slight glamorization, I am actually wearing head to toe Lululemon.

Camilla

This was inspired by Camilla Belle. Not only is she gorgeous, her name is perfect too.

Emily (Blog) Post

As far as I know Emily Post hasn't yet addressed the issue of intellectual property in the blogosphere, but I'm pretty sure she would advise against borrowing artwork without first asking for the permission of the artist. So if you are interested in using my art, please email inslee@inslee.net and I'll be happy to help!

And now, some royal jewels.

And some more retro-ness. I seem to be getting more and more projects that require this vintage/lady-like feel to them...

Cut out

Today feels scrumptiously chilly so I thought I'd share this illustration with you all.

Strutting in Yellow

Loosen up

So I'm experimenting with this new paper called YUPO. Its totally smooth, feels like plastic. Wild. I went in to buy my usual heavy weight cold press strathmore and there it was this bizarre plastic paper with absolutely no absorbent qualities claiming to be perfect for watercolor techniques and four times as expensive as everything else.

When I asked the utrechts helper guy what this crazy paper was he could barely compose himself enough to explain over the excessive gesticulations and sighs of delight. "It like totally blends... its all on the surface but it complements in like.... layers of splash" I believe was the general gist.

That is my first attempt at using it above. It was sort of weird and floaty. Like... driving a prius. So I am going to continue to experiment and see how loose my drawing can get.

I want to be able to work like this....

And not worry about the fact that sometimes they only have one arm. No problem.

That illustration is from Fashion Illustrations by Fashion Designers - amazing book showcasing the outlandish drawings of the big name designers trying to articulate their ideas for their lines.

Sorry this is pretty long winded. I could talk about paper all day.

The unbearable wetness of being

This has got to be the most rain I've ever seen. Everything is utterly waterlogged and I'm weary of all the gloom. It has me thinking about just how much I really do not like wetness. My whole life I've been much more put off by situations of moisture than any one else I've ever met and do not get me started on wet towels. Dry, clean towels are next to, if not beyond godliness.

But anyway, it also has me thinking about cold weather clothes...


Although, I'm pretty sure that wherever this busy hipster might be storming around in leather thigh high boots and a fedora its not actually cold or rainy. That is one of my favorite things about celebrities/hipsters.... their clothing choices are not governed by weather like it is for the rest of us. The richer they are, the more outerwear they need at all times regardless of temperature. Genius.

She seems pretty rainy day appropriate too. (Sulking despite the enormous bouquet of balloons and the ability to pull off winter white wide leg trousers)

This little grump also can't get her act together despite wearing an amazing lace shift. So I thought I'd add her to the montage. Shes another discarded potential February. Suchhhh a disagreeable month.

Beehive

Some dramatic hair to spice up your Tuesday. To buy a print of this illustration, click here!

Hat girls

This illustration was inspired by a vintage photograph I came across on this wonderful blog called Design Love Fest. I loved how the girls looked in their turban/hats, the colors made them look like a little bouquet of flowers. So I had to draw it. We could have all used some chic turbans like these this morning in Washington during the freak monsoon. Where has all the glamor gone... sigh...

Sultry

To shop for a print of this illustration, click here!

Featured on Beauty and the Feast

Hi Everyone!

How has August been treating you? I just got back from a wonderful trip to Mexico to find out that I was featured last week on Beauty and the Feast Blog! Be sure to visit it, I know you'll love it. It features the two most important things - good food and good fashion. What more do you really need? Well if you are in Mexico, you'd need to add bottled water to the list... but since I'm back that pretty much covers it.




Here's the link to the feature on me!... http://beautyandthefeastblog.com/2010/08/05/inspiration-of-the-day-sketches-by-inslee/

Happy August!

Looking ahead... its ok to fall

Ok admit it, you recognize the catch phrase "its ok to fall" because you also love to hate spending 2 hours of your Monday nights watching the bachelorette. Don't you love how they all talk about falling in love so much that they've abbreviated it to simply "falling"?

But anyway, Fall the season is in full swing in every catalog, magazine, store window etc. Pretty much everywhere but actually outside. The high today will be 94. Yipeeeee makes me want to think about gloves! Not. But that is the reality we live with and so I am thinking about pea coats and boots long before I'll ever want to wear them...

good afternoon

Just a little red dress on a Tuesday afternoon...

Sally! Bobby! Go watch tv.

I am SO EXCITED for Sunday. FINALLYYYYY the wait is over and Mad Men season 4 is here at last. I have been marathoning through season 3, it gets better every time.


I was looking at the French Vogue site today and they had a posting about the upcoming season paired with merchandise of today that has been inspired by the madmen era... their selections were priceless...

Really sums it up doesn't it? So... I think I'm going to have to start illustrating Betty's outfits every monday morning after the new episodes!

Shoe pop

to shop for this illustration please visit my website!

Ohhh february

Remember how I said I hate February? Well not only do I have to live through it every winter, but I also have to think about it every summer too when I create next year's calendar. I tried drawing this February girl this morning and somehow she turned out to be a bad illustrated cocktail of magician/Dracula/mime. God shes so creepy! The curse of this month lives on...

Out and about

So today I had a rare adventure out of Georgetown and into the real world during normal business hours. I'm happy to report it is still there. It made me wish I had better excuses to own a fabulous professional wardrobe like this girl. I suppose if I was sitting in a desk wearing a pencil skirt I'd probably wish I was at home in jean shorts... the grass is always greener right?

ps. I'm so excited you all like the birthday girl! I still don't know if I want to do flat or folded... I'm thinking BOTH!

pps. do you like the new header? is it too large? I got a little carried away

Let them eat cake

This is for all you summer birthday people that suffered through elementary school without getting to have a party at school on your day. Actually, I'm thinking of using this as a Birthday Card for sale on my website. Flat or folded? That is the question.

I'm baaaaaack

Why hello. Did you miss me? I was at the beach and there is no blogging allowed at the beach. This is a rule I made for myself after I almost killed a sun bather while furiously walking and texting on the beach. Walking and texting (and therefore walking into other people) is something I do nonstop here in DC so I should have known I was at risk for textwalk attacking someone at the beach too.

I had good intentions of relaxing when we arrived at the beach house and headed down for a stroll in the surf (what could be more de-stressing?) but failed to notice that my blackberry was still surgically attached to my hand. So there I was charging along at an Olympic pace replying to texts and BBMs when the offending sun bather appeared out of nowhere in the middle of my information super highway. As I tripped over myself to avoid walking on this woman's neck, I realized I needed a break from blogging, blackberrying and general connectedness. It was time to just enjoy the sunshine.

So yes I successfully scaled back my computer time. This gave me more time to shop. I found myself admiring this Lilly Pulitzer cover up in the surf shop. I usually think of Lilly Pulitzer as a brand that never should have tried to evolve into the 21st century. It may have been the height of style years ago, but now its the uniform of frumps the world over.

However, this long dress was so vintage feeling that I actually really liked it. It would take a very bold nonfrump to successfully rock this acre of floral. I wish Lilly had kept her integrity by selling only strictly vintage, over-the-top pieces like this one.

Happy July!

Stop and smell the roses

A friend of mine is sewing this dress for herself, resourceful huh? Doesn't the hot pink zipper just make all the difference?

To shop for this print, please visit my website.

Sweethearts

Aren't these little waifs cute? These sketches are inspired by the tailored collection of Erin Fetherston.

To shop for this print, please visit my website!

happy friday

Hi! I feel like its been a long time since I've blogged and I'm sorry, I hope you haven't given up on me! Its been a busy couple of weeks for me. Actually its more than busy, its been a HOT couple of weeks. Being unable to stop sweating does not inspire my creative streak. But anyway, today is divine and I'm back.

The current state of the blog header is a little haphazard isn't it? I'm working on it don't worry. Anyway, I hope you're all too busy leaving work early to head to some wonderful beach front destination to even see this post, but just in case you're stuck in doors, here's a DVF bikini...

summer solstice

A summery painting for you today now that the solstice has begun. I'm always surprised when it isn't "officially" summer until the end of June even though its been 90 degrees every day for the past six weeks. But better late than never, at least its finally here!

Rawr

A little bit of leopard to jump start the morning...

Mondayyyyy

I was in a fog of hating the beginning of the week and how the treadmill of life is so cruel etc etc and then I saw these shoes on 5 inch and up and was immediately distracted from wallowing. This blog is written by a Finnish fashion student in London and she is quite the shoe dare devil. If this doesnt scare you into waking up I don't know what will...

Escape from reality

Its raining, its Wednesday, and I have a cold. What better time than this to escape reality with the Dior Resort 2011 collection? The retro girlieness cheered me up right away. Don't you think?

Dear Diary

I've never been a faithful journal keeper or a diary person. I have occasionally gotten all jazzed up about devoting a time in each day to reflection but somehow that always gets derailed after about two days and 40 dollars spent on fancy moleskin notebooks that end up gathering dust. But this year I finally found something that works... a daily drawing journal. I actually look forward to finding something interesting each day on the street, in a magazine, on a blog, in a dream that is worth drawing. And the best part is, unlike a diary, I don't have to keep it hidden in my underwear drawer. See look I'll show it to you now...

golden years of short shorts

Ok so.... I know I shouldn't base my life choices on "hot 99.5" but I was listening to the radio yesterday and the idiots who are always talking and not playing music were discussing when is the age when wearing daisy duke shorts is no longer acceptable. One caller chimed in to say she felt the cut off age (pun intended) was 30 years old. And this really got me thinking. I only have six good years left to wear denim underpants around in public!

Or less.... I mean if this girl is calling into radio stations to discuss jean shorts, then perhaps her judgment is flawed. No, her judgment is definitely flawed. The end of tiny shorts could be sooner than 30! I must wear them as much as possible!

Also... clogs. Clogs seem to be this year's answer to the crazy bad idea in foot wear. Last year's gladiator contraption is this years clog. But I actually like clogs. If you see me wandering down the street in tights, daisy duke shorts and clogs, you must promise not to laugh until I have passed.