PIZZA EVERY DAY?!

BRAND NEW 100 page meal planner notepads in my shop! 
I'm pretty excited about these!  They started out as a joke between me and my partner: when we moved in together a few years ago we ate A LOT of pizza.  Not only do we live 30 seconds away from Mid City Pizza, our favorite pizza joint in New Orleans, we also perfected the art of pizza making at home.  And we got really good at it, if I do say so myself.

Obviously we don't eat pizza every day, we reduced our weekly homemade pizza to once a month.  It would be SO EASY to just eat pizza every day.... in a perfect world, right?

(BTW If you really ate pizza every day, I'm guessing you wouldn't need this meal planner at all )😉

Support Local Artist Buttons

New Orleans is such a wonderful place to live, especially as an artist.  Strolling through Frenchmen Art Market various shops throughout the city and its many festivals makes my heart feel so full.  Two great stores recently started doing business with me, too.  So I had to share my love by making something and sharing it with others. 

The Future!

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This month Quick Draw looked into the future and collaborated with the talented artists at Square Carousel! Allie Rotenberg and I teamed up with a sketch swap. 

Allie's Sketch

Allie's Sketch

Julia's Final

Julia's Final

Julia's Sketch + Allie's Final

Julia's Sketch + Allie's Final

I’ve been a fan of Allie’s work since my children’s book professor shared her picture book, Ollie the Day Owl, with me ages ago!  I’ve always enjoyed her work, so I was thrilled we were paired for this challenge.  Thanks for lookin into the future and ~*mind melding*~ with me, Allie!  It’s been a blast 👾 

Storyville: I Heart City Park

Last month I had some time to submit two designs for Storyville's City Park themed contest!  I normally hold off when it comes to contests, but this little t-shirt shop is locally owned (by AWESOME people), the prize they hand out is nice, and a percent of the sales from the winning tshirt is donated to City Park.
New Orleans City Park is one of the oldest city parks in the country, and definitely one of my favorite places in the city.  For this contest I chose to focus on my favorite spot in City Park, the Botanical Garden, specifically the lily pond in front of the beautiful Conservatory.  I live around the corner so it's a nice escape if I'm feeling stressed in the middle of a work day.  It's usually empty in the middle of day and I have the garden to myself--  I just love it there.

Here are my two designs:

I'm proud to announce that Storyville chose my Conservatory design as the winner!  They are now available in unisex tanks and toddler tees in all Storyville shops.

And here are some lovely pictures of City Park!  The vintage ones are WPA photographs and the modern shots are from Google Images.
 

Thanks again to Storyville and the wonderful New Orleans City Park for being such a beautiful muse.

Slidell Little Theater Poster: The Snow Queen

It's still very chilly in southeast Louisiana!  Normally I'd wish to draw something sunnier and warmer when it's this cold but I'd do anything for my beloved Slidell Little Theater! :)

I really wanted to focus on the hand lettering with this poster.  Below are some of the steps of my creative process.  

1. I always start with a few thumbnail drawings and work up some details on tracing paper.
2. After the sketch is more developed I use my light table to work on the lettering and final drawing.
3-4. Inking!
5. Coloring in Photoshop.

Here are some close ups:

Thanks again, Slidell Little Theater!

Handmade Valentines!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

After the holiday season ended I hopped back on the saddle finishing a HUGE project (that I'll be able to share later this year) a few editorial projects, and some projects for charity.  Between a 5 week marathon wrapping up projects and Mardi Gras I found myself exhausted and in a creative rut.  
When this happens I usually like to create something with my hands! Usually I turn to collage, but it's been a while since I've done a little printmaking in my studio.  The week before Mardi Gras I decided to make some handmade printed valentines for family, friends, and clients.  I made 30 prints on brown chipboard stationary and 15 on brightly colored stationary (not pictured).

Valentines should have some sort of shimmery detail, so I used gold foil and gel pens!  This was a fun project to do along side taxes and a slow work week before Mardi Gras.

Summary of Art - 2014

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Thanks to all my friends, family, and clients for an amazing year.  

I’m really happy that I found multiple outlets in my community this year for side projects.  The work I made for Big Class and Slidell Little Theater are probably my favorite projects from 2014, and most rewarding!  While I’ll still be sharing my freelance time with being a nanny, I hope I can still find time to volunteer in 2015.

This time next year my goal is to be moving to freelance full-time!  Here's to a productive, happy, and healthy New Year!
 

Slidell Little Theater: Good Old Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas

I had the pleasure of creating a poster for Slidell Little Theater's Christmas show!  (See my recent work with Knuffle Bunny here).  

Along with the poster, I was asked to take photos of my process!  
Here’s a very basic step by step:

1. Brainstorm and research, followed by thumbnails.
2. Sketch and color study.
3. Hand lettering and final inking.
4. Final colors and textures!

Those of you in the New Orleans/Northshore Slidell area have two more weekends to check it out!

Cool To Be Kind

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Illustration on teaching compassion to your kids for DallasChild magazine, October 2014.

Comp Sketch, ©2014 by Julia C Lavigne

Comp Sketch, ©2014 by Julia C Lavigne

Final, ©2014 by Julia C Lavigne

Final, ©2014 by Julia C Lavigne

Thanks again to AD Lauren Niebes!

Knuffle Bunny!!!! Julia tackles set design:

©2014 by Julia Lavigne

©2014 by Julia Lavigne

Last June I was approached by Slidell Little Theater to design a poster for a Young Audiences show.  Most YA shows are musicals adapted from children's books, and when I found out that the show was Knuffle Bunny I had to say 'yes'!  

I am a HUGE Mo Willem's fan, I think his stories are absolutely hilarious and knew immediately that the show was going to be amazing. 

Growing up in Slidell I spent a lot of time at Slidell Little Theater.  Most of my high school friends and teachers also volunteer here, on stage and off.   My high school algebra teacher and my high school choir teacher, Josh and Melanie St. Cyr,  were in charge of this production of Knuffle Bunny.
 
I later got an email from Josh about managing the set design…. and again I had to say "yes" because I love this story so much.  From that July thru tech week (early September) I was working like crazy on the digital sets, 3D cardboard set pieces, and laundry puppets. 
 

Brooklyn References on my Pinterest 

Brooklyn References on my Pinterest 

Thumbnails

Thumbnails

Whenever I start a project, before I start sketching, I gather reference images.  To get the look I wanted I like to use Pinterest to collect various reference photos. Since “Knuffle Bunny” takes place in Brooklyn, I searched for old new york shop fronts, brownstone houses, and other NY scenes.  








I then used the script (and the directors) to help me decide which of the New York scenes were needed to help tell the story the best way possible.

If this were any other kid's book I would be worried about being too influenced by the original book's art style.  Thankfully I didn't have to worry about this problem because Mo Willems used his own photographs of Brooklyn for the backgrounds.

So the visuals for Knuffle Bunny the musical is actually the opposite of the book!  Illustrated people and real backgrounds are used in the book; real people and my illustrated backgrounds are used in the musical.

My sketches used to create the larger than life puppets.

My sketches used to create the larger than life puppets.




In the second act of the show, the dad character battles huge, larger than life pieces of laundry as he's trying to find his daughter's stuffed Knuffle Bunny in the wash.  

To create this surreal battle scene I designed some puppets, with the help of Josh and my partner Stephen, for actors to wear on stage.

I started with sketches, then drew out a scaled up version on cardboard.  After the cardboard was cut to shape we used PVC pipe, zip ties, and glue to construct the back so the actors could wear the pieces on stage.

Illustration of the firetruck I created for the show.

Illustration of the firetruck I created for the show.

First night rehearsing with the firetruck.

First night rehearsing with the firetruck.

There was a part in the script where the dad and Trixie (the baby) cross the fire station en route to the laundromat.

We thought it would be cute if we created an extra pigeon scene in the show using the fireman and his firetruck.  Mo Willem's pigeon books are SUPER popular, so we knew it would be a big hit with the kids.  

Josh's brilliant 6 year old daughter dressed up as the little pigeon and after the fireman tells the audience "DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE MY FIRETRUCK" it's up to the kids in the audience to tell the Pigeon "NO!!!" whenever she sneaks towards it.

To make this extra fun scene a reality I really wanted to create a BIG firetruck to roll out.  I made the illustration first and then scaled it up to 8 ft with multiple pieces of cardboard.

Process shots on the 8 ft. tall firetruck!!

Process shots on the 8 ft. tall firetruck!!

Most all of my work is digital on the computer and only used for print.  I am so happy I had the opportunity to create work in 3D that interacts with actors moving on stage and with an audience full of kids and families.  This project was very time consuming (for all involved) but so so worth it in the end.  Thanks to Mo Willems for being all around awesome, I had a blast working with this story!  And thanks to Slidell Little Theater and the whole community for coming out to support live theater and art. 

Just some of the set pieces!

Just some of the set pieces!

Illustration Blog Tour

I was recently tagged by the AMAZING Blythe Russo to participate in this illustration blog tour.  Blythe and I attended SCAD at the same time (in the same department!) but we didn't really become friends until after we both graduated!  Get to know Blythe from her blog tour post and check out her work -- her portfolio is so much fun to look at!

 What am I currently working on?

I have a HUGE project wrapping up this week that I'm very proud of.  "Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical" opens today and I am the head set designer.  This is my first time doing set design, so it's been a challenge but SO MUCH FUN!
I'll show more after this weekend but to the right are some of the giant laundry puppets during a rehearsal.  And below are some of the backgrounds I illustrated just for the show.

How does my illustration process work?

Like most artists I keep a sketchbook.  I record random words and ideas, draw from life, and out of my head.  99% of the time my work starts with a simple doodle in my sketchbook.
 

From there, if I like the idea, I refine the sketch on a separate piece of paper and work out a comp on the computer.

My final sketch is transferred to heavy paper and I ink my final outlines with Higgins ink or brush pens.

After that is all computer!   I do sometimes use my own watercolor in the inking stage and the final image is a hybrid of traditional and digital.  But the color in my example to the right is all digital.

 

Why do I illustrate what I do?

If I'm not creating I feel like a waste of space and I get really unhappy.  It's pretty simple.  Creating art has always made me feel normal and happy.  
It isn't a perfect love story, I get really frustrated in my process sometimes.  Certain projects can be tricky and I loose motivation and drive but once I'm back on track I rediscover this passion to create all over again.  Art making is the only thing that's always going to be a (fun) challenge and the end result always such a sweet reward.  
I hope that was a complete thought but if it isn't here's a proud pic of me holding up a giant bra I made recently:

BigOlBra

I am tagging Kyrstin Avello and Kelly Leigh Miller.  I know both from twitter (where I discovered not only their awesome art but I found out we share a common love for the x-men and sailor moon haha).  I admire their passion to create and share something everyday-- they are two incredible artists to be on the look out for. :)

ICON8 Travel Sketchbook July 8-13th 2014

If I had to pick one sentence that best summarizes ICON8 I would pick Ellen Weinstein's slide from the opening ceremony:

I couldn't agree more, Ellen!  

I couldn't agree more, Ellen!  

The ICON8 podium blasting off into outer space in a "Magic School Bus" type of whimsical fashion.

The ICON8 podium blasting off into outer space in a "Magic School Bus" type of whimsical fashion.

ICON8 is now over and I am back in my studio filled with inspiration and with a full heart.
It was SO GREAT to see some of my illustration buddies again (here’s looking at you Jessica, Reina, Kenton, Lena)
I also got to see my old roommate / brother / bff from school while I was in Portland so it was a really great week for catching up with old friends (and professors).
Meeting quite a few of my illustration crushes was also really cool <3  
Thanks again to all the ICON8 board members, sponsors, and presenters.  Everyone I met was (surprise!) super nice and awesome.  I was a big wallflower once I was away from my school security blanket, but I’m promising myself to not be so shy once ICON9 rolls around .

Also I tried not to mention ANYTHING from Portlandia while I was there, I didn’t want to piss off any locals. But after watching the show then visiting Portland myself I can tell you that Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen are doing a very accurate job ;)

The Omnibus Treasury

"The Omnibus Treasury: An Illustrated Jewelry Exhibition" 

The Omnibus Treasury is a Light Grey Art Lab show that opened Friday May 30th, 2014 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The exhibition explores the art of adornment, treasure, and covetable collections, featuring unique creations by thirty illustrators from around the world.  
I was so excited to be in another LGAL show and so proud to have my work shown in 3D for the first time (and with such talented artists!)

"Summer Star Gaze"  

This collection of inspired by personal past times, summer memories, and gazing up at the night sky.“Even in the stillness of a summer night, my eyes get energized with wonder and amazement of our galaxy." 

This collection of inspired by personal past times, summer memories, and gazing up at the night sky.
“Even in the stillness of a summer night, my eyes get energized with wonder and amazement of our galaxy."

 

Thanks to Lindsay Nohl for being so wonderful and putting together this show!  She handled the magical transition with our illustrations into jewelry beautifully! 

OmnibusTreasuryGallery1
OmnibusTreasuryGallery2

You can purchase my jewelry exclusively thru LGAL's shop.

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