December Over-40 Blogger Meetup -- Only 4.5 months Away!

December 2-4, 2016 
Santa Monica, CA 
Big Over-40 Blogger Weekend! 

OK, so I haven't said very much about this, nor have I updated the page with the email signup.
Bad hostess, SpyGirl, bad.
I HAVE been contemplating it, never fear.
Twelve of you have even signed up for the email list! Thank you ladies!

Connie, Jean, Patti,
Suzanne, Melanie, Pao,
Senora, and [didn't sign up but hope they are still interested] Glenda, Heather

Yes, I AM able to count. Seven of the twelve have already been SpyGirled.
Lisa, Rena, Jodie, Autumn, SJ -- you're next (if you wish).

The meetup coincides with my exhibition of Fashion Sketches titled Fashion Rainbow to be held at TAG Gallery, Santa Monica, November 22-December 17.

I've been busy working procrastinating on it and am slowly filling in my rainbow grid:

[click on image to see bigger]

Many slots yet to fill!

Meetup Event Ideas

Friday, Dec 2
Daytime could be adventure time, with groups going to various shopping meccas, guided by local experts (Heather and Glenda hopefully).
7-8pm I'm thinking of having a special private VIP reception for my collectors and muses.
YOU are the muses (and some are collectors too. I thank you)!
8:30 Dinner somewhere in Santa Monica.

Saturday, Dec 3
AM, meet for breakfast? (I might have to teach 9-noon).
Daytime, more touring?
5-8pm is the Artists' Reception that is open to the public. I'll have to be there, you can find your own trouble!
8:30 Dinner somewhere in Santa Monica. It's really sad to go home solo after a reception. Let's eat!

Sunday, Dec 4
10am-? Perhaps a continental breakfast and garment swap at the gallery?

Lodging
I suggest staying in Santa Monica.
There is a new Metro train that is 2 stops away from the gallery.
(Severo and I just rode it to downtown LA last night and it was fine -- dare I say, fun.)
Pao found some sweet air/lodging deals on Expedia and I'll send out the details in the first newsletter, sometime this week.

Transportation
I suggest a taxi, Uber, or Lyft to get from LAX to the hotel.
If you rent a car, use the major rental agencies (Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, etc). Be advised that a parking fee will probably be added to your hotel bill. Free street parking in Santa Monica is nearly impossible to find. SM Parking Enforcement is super vigilant, you don't want a parking ticket.
For shopping expeditions, Uber, Lyft, or public transportation (will take longer) are the best options.
Parking is difficult (or expensive) everywhere.

Feeling interested? Excited?
Please join the A list! Adding yourself to the list increases the odds of a SpyGirl portrait!

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See you in December?

"Anne the SpyGirl" Shop on Society6

I've opened a shop exclusively for my fashion sketches on Society6

[earlier iteration of sketch]
ISM Mode F/W13 Plaid Top
direct link to sketch on Society6 

A widget is now stationed on the sidebar, for your shopping convenience.

For anyone curious about starting their own business selling digital prints, I'm really pleased with the quality and service of Society6. I set up my fine art prints shop there in 2010.

I like the fact that you can add what profit you'd like to make on your work for the prints on paper.

[now you know my markups]

They also offer pieces framed, which I haven't yet sampled. (Almost did for my upcoming show, but then decided I didn't like the framing options). They fulfill the order and payments are through PayPal.

Sizing is dependent upon the size of your original jpg. If you're particular about color matching and output dimensions, then this wouldn't be a good place to use as a service bureau. I've had some "interesting" size issues happen -- especially with a cupcake image that I had to shrink and reorder because the first version was scary big (cupcakes the size of cauliflower heads? No thank you).
Other drawbacks are: not knowing who buys your work, canvas print prices are not adjustable (this one really irks me), and the paper is super heavy and rolled (how it comes for the printing process) so it's impossible to "float" your image when framing.

They keep adding new substrates and products that they print -- the latest is pillows.
I just ordered an iPhone case and I'll tell you what I think when I get it (soon I hope).
The site also has a whole "social" aspect, with "Loves" and "Follows" and all that.

Note: I was not compensated by Society6 for this post.
But if you buy art from me over there, then I will certainly make some money!

Figuring It Out As I Go

This year, I set an intention to sketch at fashion events. The two events hosted by the Los Angeles Fashion Council that I attended last week gave me a perfect opportunity to put intent into action. I've written about both already here and here, now I'll show you what I wore and what I drew with.

Wednesday night was an "on the way home from work" situation.
I chose the paisley shell because it has patch pockets.
That's why I took Elvis too. Well, that and Elvis has a built-in "wow" factor.

photos and "Food Fight" installation by Manny Castro

As soon as I got home, I wrote a list of supplies that I wanted to take the next day,
while my needs were still fresh in my mind:

I didn't have time to stop at an art supply store, so I "made do" with what I had on hand:

I created a figure template underlay to use as a framework to get the proportions right --
I just can't do it freehand

I put the same template into my iPad Brushes app and made a bunch of duplicates.
I ended up not using the iPad. Was happy sketching analog!

Day 2, ready to hit the I-10 to downtown -- Red Lips, people!!!

How the raw sketches look

Scanned sketch, added color in Illustrator

I'm happy with the direction these sketches are going. I like the loose "Mats Gustafson" look. [Look him up].
I've got many more to finish, and another event coming up next Thursday. WooHoo!

Checking in with Patti's Visible Monday. Click on over to see more Visibleness.

Live Sketching the #OSCARS

Here they are -- the gowns I captured while watching the OSCAR telecast on ABC --
both from the red carpet and from the stage of the Dolby Theater. [Extra long post with lots of images]
First, an overview:

Jessica Chastain in Armani

Robin Roberts in Marc Bouwer

Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta

Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen

Naomi Watts in Armani

Jennifer Aniston in Valentino

Kristin Chenoweth in Tony Ward

Anne Hathaway in Prada

Quvenzhane Wallis in Armani Junior

Nicole Kidman in L'Wren Scott

Halle Berry in Versace

Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji

Jennifer Hudson

Jane Fonda in Versace

Charlize Theron in Dior

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior

Shirley Bassey

Field Notes:
• My grey marker ran out of juice about 1/2 way through the telecast, so Shirley has no color yet.
• I didn't see the bottom of Jennifer Lawrence's gown until the very end when she got her award, and I was a bit confused on the design details, so her back skirt ended up on the front. Oops! 
• I was unable to find the designers of the performance gowns of Jennifer Hudson and Shirley Bassey -- please leave me a comment if you know!

I'm thinking of offering prints of these for sale on Society 6 -- $15 for an 8x6" sound good?

Did you have a favorite gown from the OSCARS?

Crazy Quilt -- Nylon Blend Plaid

I enjoyed sewing dresses even if I had nowhere to wear them.
This one got to shine at my my wedding rehearsal dinner in 79.

I bought the yardage from my Aunt Ricky. In the 70s, she had a home business selling Leiter's Fabrics. Based out of Kansas City, it was kind of like Avon, but for home sewers with a taste for couture fabrics. They had all kinds of fabric -- from basic knit jersey to fancy brocades. I guess they worked out some kind of deal with fabric wholesalers -- one of the fabrics I still haven't cut into is from Fischer and Gentile - not your everyday stock from the local fabric store. (And there was NO local fabric store in Barneveld, NY and the one in Utica is unmemorable).
She got long boxes full of swatch cards organized by fabrication every season and was constantly pulling the cards of yardage that had sold out. I diverted many of them and lots of those swatches went onto the quilt.

I have a worse-for-wear paperback book, Secrets of Creative Tailoring and Finishing, by Leadell Hall with illustrations by Michaele Vollbracht that was published by Leiter's in 1971.
It's still available on Amazon! The internet is a wonderful thing!
Here are some scans from it:

Aren't the illustrations great?
I love the paper bag on the head!
(I kept these 3 last images higher rez, if you want to click on them and read the text)

Back cover
Look how hep (and young) Michaele looks!

Wow, I forgot how good this book is! Helpful, even. Must re-read!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! The timing of this post was totally accidental -- didn't even realize the date until a few days ago. GAH! Featuring a photo from a marriage that didn't last on VD... Oh well, I'll go lounge on the fainting couch and wear my paper bag chapeau and call it a day. Sev's off on the east coast playing gigs. Where are the bon bons?