FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: RUJIŠTE MOUNTAIN CHIC

 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! How are you? It's (almost) Friday and you know what that means on this little digital place to call my own, don't you? It's time for another FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (i.e. a regular feature on my blog where I post my fashion illustrations). I don't post every single Friday, but every month you can expect at least one or two posts in this category. Fashion illustration is something that I have always enjoyed and still do.  Even when I was a girl, I would fill my sketchbooks with fashion illustrations and sketches.  

Over the years, my fashion illustration style has evolved together with my art. I think it's only logical that other art projects I do get reflected onto my fashion illustrations. Having taken traditional art courses in the past, I sometimes ended up using traditional mediums for my fashion illustrations. At other times, I would experiment with other more modern techniques and mediums. Moreover, sometimes I would turn my fashion illustrations into something that can be better describes as a fashion painting. Even in my fashion illustrations, I would often get focused on details or work on the face a bit more to make it more personal. Not to mention another regular  feature on my blog (INSPIRED BY...) where I actually illustrate other bloggers. It's been an art journey for sure. 

Including landscapes into my fashion illustration is something that came naturally to me.  I'm glad I did not end up copying the mainstream fashion illustration styles, but rather tried to come up with an art style and motives that would be authentically mine. I'm not sure I'm there yet, but at least I know that I'm trying to get there. Take this illustration I'm sharing today. I wasn't sure whether to put it into a fashion illustration or location illustration category. I think it's kind of both. I was even thinking of putting it into 'travel with my art' series, but then decided to post it today because on overall, it feels more like a fashion illustration. Scroll down to read more!

THE MEDIUM & THE INSPIRATION BEHIND IT- The medium for this watercolour illustration is watercolour pencils (Staedler) on mixed media paper (Royal Talens). I was inspired by two things: a visit to Rujište mountain (back in April) and my magenta coat. Now, because I have already illustrated this magenta coat twice and did a plus 30 wears post about it HERE, I decided to change things a little bit and this time illustrate it longer. I wanted the illustration to look a bit more timeless. So, I illustrated it with a long coat (or a long coat dress if that better suits your imagination). Rujište mountain is a very beautiful place and I wanted a more romantic outfit to go along with it. When you draw from reference, you can still change things a bit. For me creating this illustration was a great way to both remember the place I visited and to re-imagine it as a magical fantasy forest. 

MY PREVIOUS ILLUSTRATIONS OF THIS MAGENTA COAT HERE AND HERE

MY PREVIOUS VISITS TO RUJIŠTE MOUNTAIN

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE, YOU'RE MORE CAN VISIT ONE OF MY SIX POSTS ABOUT RUJISTE

1. RUJIŠTE (TRAVEL POST) 2013

2. VISIT RUJIŠTE, A MOUNTAIN OASIS NEAR MOSTAR (A SUMMER VISIT 2019)

3. WINTER DESTINATIONS HERZEGOVINA: MOUNTAIN PRENJ RUJIŠTE 2019

4. TRYING OUT A NEW HIKING TRACK, RUJIŠTE, HERZEGOVINA 2019

5. WINTER FAIRY TALE AT HOTEL SNJEZNA KUCA , RUJIŠTE, PRENJ MOUNTAIN 2020

6. SUMMER AT RUJIŠTE, THE HERZEGOVIAN HIMALAYA 2020

MY MOST RECENT VISIT WAS BACK IN APRIL-  We actually visited this place in April without even planning it. We just drove a bit with vague plans of spending some time in nature. I decided that I really wanted to visit Rujište again.  Ever since my first visit, I felt a connection to this place. When I suggested it to my husband, he agreed and so I just drove there. It always amazes me just how near to the Mostar city this amazing mountain oasis really is. You can get there in no time, have a cup of coffee and return before everyone notices you went anywhere. Anyhow, we enjoyed a cup of coffee in the hotel there and then we felt brave enough to so some hiking.  There is actually a lovely and quite easy hiking track near the hotel. We attempted to hike there, but eventually had to give up because the ground was frozen. There was no ice on those areas where there was sunshine but this hiking track is in the forest, so the ground was frozen under the leaves and it was just too slippery. We took a few photographs and returned to the car feeling refreshed by the mountain air. It was a bit cold, but sunny day. I'm really glad we decided to visit again, even if we didn't manage to do much hiking, it was still a nice visit. 

THE MAKING OF THIS FASHION ILLUSTRATION- Well, the first thing I did was to choose a reference. While I was drawing I decided to make some changes to it so I did. This illustration then remained in my skechbook and I didn't touch it for days because I was very busy working on the painting I showed you yesterday. However, having completed that epic painting, I finally had time to sit down and finish this illustration. I did that by just adding water to it and turning it into an aquarelle. I actually contemplated just keeping it as a pencil sketch, because I liked it as a drawing and I was worried that I will mess it up once I add water. Hopefully, that didn't happen. I added the water and was quite pleased with the result. You can imagine how much easier this was to make than the last painting I did. I can feel so good to do something quickly when you have laboured on an canvas for a long time. Bellow are the photographs that show the work stages. 

MORE FASHION ILLUSTRATION POSTS -HERE and.... DIGITAL RETOUCHING WITH PAINT 3D,  LADY IN A LILAC DRESS and BALL PAINT FASHION ILLUSTRATION.  FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: WATERCOLOUR PENCILS -IVANA'S FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY- FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: INSPIRED BY COLOURS OF AUTUMN- A GIRL IN A RED GOWN: FASHION ILLUSTRATION OF THE DAY-CUSTOMIZING A NOTEBOOK WITH A FASHION ILLUSTRATION- FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: ILLUSTRATING A BLACK DRESS FROM DOLCE & GABBANA COLLECTION- 10 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR FASHION ILLUSTRATION SKILLS- HOW TO CREATE A 3D FASHION ILLUSTRATION DRESS WITH DRY FLOWERS?- FRIDAY FASHION ILLUSTRATION: HAT OBSESSED -FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY INSPIRED BY SUMMER STYLE- FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: SUMMER TO AUTUMN TRANSITION- FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: ILLUSTRATED TOTE BAGS-FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: HAT OBSESSED - FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: NEW AUTUMN INSPIRED ART FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: MY INSPIRATIONS FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: DECEMBER ANOTHER ART UPDATE HERE: MARKER ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIGITAL

Thank you all so much for reading and visiting. Have a wonderful weekend!