Author: Gail SocialBuzzing

Fashion Illustration: 101 London Art Portfolio

Posted on by Gail SocialBuzzing

One of the hottest careers in the fashion industry today is Fashion Illustration. With new Fashion Illustrators making an average of £37K their first year, and experienced illustrators making in excess of £64K annually, there is a lot of room for professional growth. Just what is Fashion Illustration and what does a Fashion Illustrator do? Let’s take a look:

What Is Fashion Illustration?

Fashion Illustration can be defined as ‘the art of communicating fashion ideas in a visual form that originates with illustration, drawing and painting.’ Now let’s see an example of fashion illustration in action with a few simple tutorials that will walk you through some basic fashion illustration techniques.

Kisses in Colour Lips Tutorial

     To create an illustration depicting a wide variety of lipstick shades, grab your Caran D’ache paint palette and a sketch pad. You will be using the Gouache painting method for this tutorial.

  1. Prime a wide tip brush with Caran D’ache water colours.
  2. Next, paint the top, then the bottom portion of the lips.
  3. This should be done in as few strokes as possible to achieve the desired ‘full lips’ look.
  4. Rinse your brush and prime it with another colour from your water colour tray.
  5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until you have filled your page or until you have the desired number of lipstick shades.
  6. Then, with a fine line UniPin, draw a line separating the upper and lower lips.

Fashion Illustration Of Model In Yellow Dress

For this tutorial, you will need your Koh-i-noor or Caran D’ache water colour set, a fine line UniPin and you will be using the Gouache painting method.

  1. Begin by creating a full body outline of your model using your fine line UniPin. Capture as much detail as possible as this will add depth to the finished project.
  2. Then, wet your brush, load it with paint and apply the lip colour.
  3. Using quick brush strokes, apply a wash of colour to the dress, filling in the empty areas with flowing, deliberate brush strokes.
  4. Finally, apply the skin tone, finishing your illustration.

Eye Scans From Marc Jacobs FW 2016

For this tutorial, you will use water colours and Marc Jacobs Beauty makeup to create a stunning look from the Marc Jacobs Fall Winter 2016 Fashion Show at New York Fashion Week.

  1. First, load your brush with water and your favourite water colour.
  2. Then, create the famous Marc Jacobs sultry eye look by adding paint or ink to your pad.
  3. Optional: Using Marc Jacobs Beauty makeup, apply brush to create dramatic eye and eyeliner shape.

Contact London Art Portfolio

To learn more about Fashion Illustration or any of the above tutorials, contact London Art Portfolio today!

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Who Is Franz West: Sculptor, Maker, Performance, Antagonist

Posted on by Gail SocialBuzzing

An exhibit being held at London’s Tate gallery featuring contemporary visual artist, Franz West is running through 2 JUNE 2019 and it features some of the artist’s most famous works. To help people understand the artist and his works, London Art Portfolio has decided to share some useful information and a glimpse into the life of one of Austria’s top visual artists.

Who Is Franz West

Franz West is a well-known Austrian contemporary visual artist. He made a name for himself in three dimensional designs such as sculptures and interior design concepts. He grew up in the 1950’s, in the aftermath of WW2 in Vienna. He described the period as a very conflicted time. During the 1960’s, he witnessed the avant-garde performances of various Viennese Actionists. He developed a unique aesthetic, which engages low and high cultural reference in an equal measure.

West studied under Bruno Gironcoli at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and started by creating drawings in the 1970’s and then worked on painting collages. His early works are seen as a direct response to the Viennese Actionism movement, which has been showcased in galleries and museums for more than three decades. Over the last couple decades, West had regular presence in various expositions, such as the Venice Biennale and Documenta. His works are usually made of aluminium, polyester, wire, papier-mache, plaster and various other common materials.

It Doesn’t Matter How An Object Looks, As Long As It’s Usable

Other than paintings, collages and sculptures, West has also created portable sculptures known as Fitting Pieces or Adaptives. His early sculptures cover common objects like pieces of furniture, machine parts, bottles and various other daily things. West expanded his work into oversized lacquered aluminium pieces in the late 1990’s, which were inspired by the Adaptives and Viennese sausages. Some of his works have been meant for lying and sitting on with their irregular patchwork surfaces and monochrome colors. West argued that it doesn’t matter how an object looks, as long as it’s usable.

Franz West’s Early Works

When appreciating the work of Franz West, we should start with his early drawings, Adaptives (Passtucke), papier-mache works and Lemur Head or Lemurenkopfe. The latter parts of West’s works include a number of monumental open-air sculptures, which can be seen in the Pompidou’s lobby and in front of various institutions and museums in the Marais district. The works of Franz West showcase unique quality and striking physical presence. It is also important to explore his unique social sensibility and the philosophical dimension of his practice when considering his body of work.

Franz West passed away in July 2012, in Vienna, Austria. He encouraged people to interact with his artwork directly as a way to explore art’s status in daily life and the positioning of the body. He playfully manipulated everyday imagery and materials in novel ways. West created installations and objects that redefine the art as effective social experience that calls the attention of the audience.

Contact London Art Portfolio

To learn more about today’s contemporary artists, contact London Art Portfolio today!

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Only Human-A Look At The Works Of Martin Parr

Posted on by Gail SocialBuzzing

A new exhibition taking an in-depth look at the life and works of one of Britain’s best-known and most widely celebrated photographers, Martin Parr, is showing at Wolfson and Lerner Galleries in the National Portrait Gallery at St Martin’s Place. The exhibition, which features many of Parr’s most well-known works, is ongoing from 7 March through 27 May 2019.

Whether you are a fan of Parr’s photography, or just a fan of great photography in general, you will enjoy his creative take on Britain, the world and the people we encounter every day. Many of Parr’s most recognisable photographs will be on display at the Wolfson and Lerner Galleries as well as some never before exhibited works focusing on his favourite subject, people.

With many of Parr’s most important and engaging works on display, attendees will be able to view portraits of people from around the world, with a special focus on “Parr’s wry observations of Britishness.” This is a truly engaging event that is not to be missed!

Exhibition Timing

When asked about the current social and political climate in the UK and the timing of the exhibition, Parr had this to say, “It’s a good time to reflect on who we are, what we’re doing, where we are going – the whole question of British identity. This set of work hints at what is going on.”

What The Media Is Saying

The media reviews of Only Human are all favourable with many 4 and 5 star reviews from some of the UK’s best known entertainment magazines and websites.

Es. had this to say about the exhibition: “His best photographs hold a mirror up to the viewer: it’s us, fed by our own histories, our political outlooks, our vanities and pretensions, who determine the photographs’ meaning.”

Exhibition Information

What: Only Human

Where: Wolfson and Lerner Galleries, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London, WC2H 0HE

When: 7 March – 27 May 2019

What Time: Open daily 10.00 – 18.00/ Fridays until 21.00

How Much: £18.00/ £16.50 (concessions)

Exhibitions are free for Members and Patrons. Large print guides are available at the entrance of the exhibition or by speaking to a member of staff.

Contact Only Human

To learn more about this engaging exhibition featuring some of Martin Parr’s most recognisable photographs and his unique take on the world around him, contact Only Human at the National Portrait Gallery today!

If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to share it on your favourite social media sites.

 

Ben Westley-Clarke 

Posted on by Gail SocialBuzzing

In 2018 Ben was awarded the Richard Ford Award Travel Grant to study and paint at the famous Museo del Prado in Madrid Spain for 7 weeks. London Art Portfolio: Fine Art Life Drawing & Painting Tutor 

Ben is born in the UK initially studied at the UAL CSM Byam Shaw School of Art Foundation Course, followed by his BA (Hons) in Fine Art from The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (1st). From 2017-18 he studied at the Royal Drawing School London on the Post Graduate Diploma in Drawing. Ben tutors in Fine Art painting and drawing and portfolio development at London Art Portfolio. 


Recently in 2018, Ben won an artist travel grant award to study and paint at the famous Museo del Prado in Madrid. This 200-year-old institution some of the largest and finest holdings of Titian, El Greco, Velazquez and Goya paintings. The Monarchs of the 16th and 17th century Spain helped to build up collections that include paintings such as ‘Las Meninas’ by Velazquez in 1656. Oil on canvas and ‘The Cardinal’ by Raphael in 1510-1511. Oil on panel.


Ben is primarily concerned with figurative and narrative work. He enjoys exploring the theatre of life through his painting, often in oils.  He is inspired by Bruegel, Titian and Caravaggio through to the more modern movements of Futurism and Expressionism. He works through direct, on-site observation, with drawing and photography, and, in the studio, using oil and acrylic paint.

Richard Ayodeji Ikhide

Posted on by Gail SocialBuzzing

Selected for the Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2018
London Art Portfolio: Fine Art & Surface Design Tutor

Richard born in Nigeria initially studied Textile Design Degree at UAL Central Saint Martins, where he specialised in the Print Pathway. More recently Richard completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Drawing at the Royal Drawing School London. Richard tutors in fine art, textile design and fashion illustration atLondonArt Portfolio. 

In 2018 Richard was selected for the well renowned  Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2018, which was established in 1949. This year it was hosted for the first time at Liverpool School of Art & Design, Liverpool John Moores University from 14th July – 9th September. In December 2018 this dynamic collection of work, which features 57 emerging British artists, will travel to be shown at the South London Gallery. Past exhibitors include Patrick Caulfield, David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Gillian Wearing,Tacita Dean and Mike Nelson.