#LAFW -- Live Sketching at The Los Angeles Collections Fall 2013

As a member of the LA Blogger Group Two Point Oh LA, I was invited to preview the Fall/Winter 13 collections that the Los Angeles Fashion Council will present today and tomorrow. I brought my sketching supplies and here's what transpired.

I start with my sketch of Kelsi Smith, founder of both groups.
She looked like the goddess Nike in her black frock and trainers.

Kelsi @ Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Cindy was promoting a new fashion social site, 1st Class Fashion.
She was decked out in golden chains:

Sarine was there to present her Sarine Marie collection.
She is a 3rd generation LA garmento! Her pieces are beautifully tailored, a skill she learned from her father.

Sarine @ Sarine Marie

Linh was presenting SOLDAT for the designer Camilla who was busy in her studio getting her garments finished to present on Thursday. Hovey Lee Eco Jewelry was also featured with the line.
Linh has her own line of pouches, Nomisa, that cleverly keep your phone or glasses clean when stored within.

Linh @ Nomisa

Now to the "technical difficulties" portion of the soiree.
My first sketch of the evening:

I started off using a Prisacolor marker with the brush nib. It worked so well for my OSCAR sketches. Not so great for this kind of sketching on this size paper. Really only that above sketch is decent. The others you can hardly tell what's going on:

It's a learning process that I'm doing on the fly!

the marker on left + marker sketch
uni-ball "vision elite" used on the right sketch
drawing paper was preprinted with the LAFC graphics for the events

Today I'm going to sit the show in the "photographers' pit" and sketch.
I will bring a full arsenal of supplies because I'm not sure what will work best!

Quick Draw: LA Fashion Council Popup Shop at the W Westwood

I attended a fun event last night, hosted by Kelsi Smith of The Los Angeles Fashion Council. It was the opening party for a popup shop comprised of local designers, situated off the lounge of the W Hotel in Westwood, 930 Hilgard, 90024.
The shop will be open 12-5pm until Saturday, 1/26/13.

Upon checking in, we were given a list of the participating designers with their twitter handles.
MOST HELPFUL! It was so dark in the room, I could hardly see a thing.

The list and their links:
Wren
Olima
Gypsy Junkies
Odylyne
Rojas
The Battalion Eco Couture
Jenny Dayco
Shallow Fashion
Bryan Hearns
Bijou Van Ness

Speaking of Twitter, if you follow me, you were subjected to these horrible snaps:

as you can see, I was attracted to texture + prints
No surprise there, amiright?

from top right, clockwise:
Bryan Hearns' shaggy lurex clutches
Battalion's super soft fake fur coats -- WANT the leopard one
Rojas' real woven ikat sheath and great B+W ethnic print tops
Wren's ikat print dress

I went to the event DETERMINED to do some sketching.
So, despite the cramped conditions, I pulled out my Moleskine and had at it:

These hats from Bijou Van Ness were so whimsical, I HAD to capture them
(plus, they weren't moving around)

After warming up my hand with the hats, I did some Spy Sketches of faces in the crowd:

Jasmine on left, adorable Marlita on right

another mystery girl, wearing a stunning coat

I'm proud of myself for ignoring my self-consciousness and going ahead and sketching in public.
You would never know from this blog that I'm EXTREMELY shy, especially in crowded party situations.
It felt wonderful doing hand sketching -- the pen to paper, letting the ink flow -- I just don't get that with digital drawing.
Analog -- it feeds my soul!
What do I need to improve? Overcome my shyness and get the names of the people I sketch!
Too many "mystery girls" here!
By the time I started looking for the above two, they had vanished.

I'm linking up with Katy's Fashion Beauty Friend Friday.
This month's theme is New Year, New You.
I promised myself this year to attend more local LA fashion events and to live sketch --> done and done!

See more of this week's responses here.

To learn more about FBFF, click here.

Sig Alert Tank

The Los Angeles Fashion Council is hosting a contest to design a Tee inspired by LA. I thought it'd be a great usage of my piece "Commuter Quilt" that I created a few years ago.

Commuter Quilt, digital print on vinyl, 51 x 35" ©2005-7

This is a digital composite of photos I shot while commuting on the lovely I-10/CA60. Morning eastbound images point to the right, evening westbound point to the left.

Did you ever wonder where the term "Sig Alert" originated? Loyd C. Sigman, a broadcasting engineer, invented a radio and tape recorder to help the police broadcast traffic warnings. Dubbed "Sigman Radio Alerts" and shortened to Sig Alerts, they began in Los Angeles in 1955.

Voting starts on Facebook today. You will need to "Like" the LAFC page to view my entry.
8/31 update: CONTEST WAS CANCELLED, boo