CROATIAN FASHION WEEK: MATEYANEIRA FASHION ILLUSTRATION IN WATERCOLOUR

 I can't really attend fashion weeks because I work full time, but with the help of the internet I get to follow fashion weeks digitally. One of the benefits of living in digital times, I guess. If you remember, I have already shared a number of fashion illustrations inspired by  spring/summer fashion weeks on this little blog of mine ( Valentino Spring Collection 2019 1 & 2, Zuhair Murad Spring Ready To Wear 2019 collection 1 & 2,  Louis Vuitton Spring Collection 2019 ). Please don't click the links to buy the illustrations, they won't lead you anymore as my art store was lost and it will take me a while to manually remove all the links (I'll explain this later on in this post, for now let's concentrate on positive things like this cute new fashion painting I'll share with you and the design that inspired it).

 I was a bit late with catching with Croatian fashion week because I've been busy with work. About a week or so ago, I finally found the time to study it. From what I could find online, Croatian fashion week was quite interesting. The collection for spring and summer 2019 were very diverse in terms of style and concept. Some designers opted for minimalism, while others were all about bold colours and patterns. They were all quite inspiring and I saw many designs I loved. I even made one fashion illustration! I illustrated one of suits designed by Mateyaneira. Behind this brand there are two young fashion and industrial designers Mateja and Neira. Their designs are fabulous and I was particularly inspired by this collection. If you're looking for unique designers and handmade creations, I recommend visiting their store. 

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS AND THE PAINTING PROCESS

The medium for this illustration is watercolour on paper. The first thing I did was to sketch the design with a pencil. The second step was colouring the fashion illustration with watercolours.  I also played a bit with digital editing, multiplying my fashion illustration.The third and the final step was drawing the face. I wasn't sure whether I should draw the face or not, because I like how the illustration looked at that stage, but then I decided to do it anyway and now I'm happy I did. A lot of fashion illustrators don't draw the faces, and I totally get that, because clothes are hard enough to depict, but I like the completed look. I included a few work in process photographs because I know a lot of people (myself included) like to see how a certain painting was made.  Finding time for art can be challenging, but what isn't, right? 

DESIGN REFERENCE I USED FOR MY FASHION ILLUSTRATION

As I already explained I illustrated a look from one of the collections showed on Croatian fashion. This green suit from Mateyaneira 2019 Collection is absolutely gorgeous. No wonder it was the outfit that caught my eye the most. I could totally see myself wearing something like this. It would be a great Easter day outfit as well. I feel very drawn to the suit look recently. How do you like this illustration? What do you think? Have I done it justice? I'll have to be immodest and say I really like how this fashion illustration of mine turned out. 

SHOP UPDATE:

My Tictail shop is now officially closed and at the moment there isn't a site where you can order my  original art. My prints are still available at my IvanaKada Redbubble site, but as the prints in that store are generally quite pricey ( I can't alter their prices, they have their own standard) I don't see many people ordering them.  What happened is that Tictail site I was using to sell my art was sold to another site and that means all the items in my store were lost. I tried to figure out how to move them onto the new platform, but frankly I'm not sure I'll have the time to figure it out in the time. I'm not sure I'll be opening a new shop any time soon either. Maybe some time in the future, when I end up with some free time on my hands. Closing of this store isn't the end of the world, since I only sold a few paintings and it wasn't my main source of income. However, it is definitely unpleasant to lose something I put many hours in. 

There were hundreds of paintings listed in there and it took me many hours to measure, describe, photograph and put those paintings in the store. I also used to have regular discounts. I did put some work into it and now it's all lost. I wish I could keep that five star review I got from one of my buyers too,  because it is so great for a new shop owner to receive that kind of positive feedback. This is the kind of thing that you can keep you going. Anyhow, this is not  the most relevant information for readers of my blog.  You can always email me if you'll like to purchase something art related, but as none of my buyers were ever readers of my blog, I don't think you will so it probably doesn't mean any changes around here. I just need to warn you not to click the links under my  art as they will not lead you anywhere. 

As I used to include the link to my shop in my posts, this means I'll have to manually remove them. I'm not looking forward to that, as it is kind of monotone work, isn't it? Do you remove all irrelevant links? I should really devote some time to it. Blogging isn't easy, that's for sure. I think people who don't have a blog don't realize how many hours may go into it. I mean don't get me wrong, I love blogging as much as I love making art, but all this creative work can definitely be very draining, both in terms of time and resources needed. I sometimes feel like I really need a vacation. Can you relate? 

MY OUTFIT OF THE DAY

Because I know not all of you are really into art, I also prepared an outfit proposal of the day. Here I styled a yellow vintage blazer with a handmade yellow top I wore as a skirt (I designed this top and my mother sewed it for me years ago). I have to give her credit for that, not everyone mother used to sew for them. The leggings were necessary because it wasn't that warm and I didn't feel like catching a cold. This was a comfy look that was for me all about accents: the green scarf and the hair accessories. 

The green scarf is a recent purchase. I like the gold details on it and the green pattern is gorgeous. I think the gold details on this scarf match well the gold and pearl hair pins I was wearing. I didn't have any time to shop for clothes in Split & Trogir, but I did make a quick stop to one second hand shop in Split where there sell clothes per kilo. I picked up a lot of scarves and ties and I only paid about a euro for them. It pays to buy second hand, doesn't it? I finished this outfit with a pair of leopard heels and a box bag. I think it is a good spring look. Gold, green, brown, black and leopard print. Is it too much? What do you think? I would say it is a good look for lovers of colours and patterns. To each its own, I guess. I love vibrant colours and prints.

Thank you for reading and stopping by. Your comments are always appreciated.