A very long post

Hello again! This is going to be a one big post so brace yourselves!
I'm having a beautiful July, and although I still can't get to grips with my dear Granny's passing away, I'm trying to spend more time drawing (while I'm on holiday from my regular job) and somehow enjoy the rest of the summer. During this month I've had a couple of commissions from different magazines and zines (more coming up) and I'd love to share some of them with you. This was made for FjordReview, a magazine devoted to dancing and ballet, and the portrait is of Maria Alexandrova in the Swan Lake. I quite enjoyed doing the ballet-related illustration, although my ballet experience is limited to one evening watching Giselle at St. Petersburg Theatre.



Another magazine which I simply adore is Lionheart. I bet you heard me mention it before, it is a pure treasure chest full of wise words, fun, beautiful pictures, art, love and style. For me another reason for loving it so much is that almost on every page I can see an artwork by my familiar fellow illustrators and get acquainted with the work of the new artists, as well. Among contributors to the second issue are of course, the Lionheart Lady herself, Helen Martin, Natasha Thompson (the cover!!), Emma Block, Fritha Strickland , Holly Exley, Abby Wright and many others! I'm very happy to be in the company of these wonderful people.

Also, my illustration of Frankie Rose was featured in Amelias Magazine, which I like a lot, and which makes excellent reading on a rainy as well as on a sunny day!
Another illustration commission was from The New Empress film magazine, for the article about B-movies and their influence, in particular Wasp Woman! I had to watch this horror flick as well and enjoyed it. It's nice when for your research you just have to sit back and watch the movie for once! 




Oh and by the way, I've been selling and adding new original drawings to the shop, and I have also collages for sale this summer. So if you are interested in anything, just leave a comment or contact me via email! :)

Hmm.. what else.. I've got these in the post recently, which considerably brightened up my mood! One was 7" vinyl from Secret7s and Florence and the Machine, signed by Florence herself, now my prized possession, another EP from a Russian band Satellite Dreams, for whom I designed a CD sleeve as well. Can I just say? I LOVE making artworks based on songs I like!

And the last but definitely the best news so far is my recent trip to the blossoming city of Florence and the beautiful Venice. Well, what can I say? I need to go back and eat the rest of the ice-cream in Italy!
 
love,
Daria