Quantcast
Channel: ooh la frou frou
Viewing all 68 articles
Browse latest View live

THE BEAUTY COLLECTOR

0
0
"She's a collector of beauty, things short and tall,
adding daily to her collection, some big and some small;
she collects kisses and love notes and each sunny day,
and tucks them into dreams as a safe place to stay;
she collects travel plans and moonbeams and sparkles on the lake,
pretty settees and lipsticks and sweet things to taste;
she collects sea shells and pretty stones and pointy-toed shoes,
perfume bottles and touches of gold and paper-wrapped blooms;
she collects snapshots of city lights for her jewel-colored books,
the palest grey and lavender always get her second looks;
Although these things of beauty make her heart virtually sing,
she has a secret passion for the sweet little things;
like calling cards, decorative matchboxes
and tiny diamond rings."

Could she be you?























I love that what we each find beautiful
is a very personal matter ...
it's whatever lights that fire inside us.
Speaking of fire ...
if I should put illustrations on decorative matchboxes
what would you like to see on them?
Upper East Side townhouses perhaps?
Topiaries?
(these are NOT the illustrations that would be on them ...
these are just quick little sketches, just for fun)

So ... what lights your fire?
Until Wednesday, darlings ...


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M
It is written by
and all illustration is by:
SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries,
contact SANDY here.

Decorative matchbox illustration
 by SANDY M

The photos in this post were via my
Pinterest boards.
I sourced a few of the items shown
that I thought you may wish to visit:
If you're wondering who made the
 beautiful stone necklace, it is by Friedasophie ...
The charming calling card is by
Austin Press ...
The monogrammed matchboxes
can be found on Monogram Goods ...
and those delicious rings are by
Marco Bicego.



COMMISSIONED

0
0
COMMISSIONED
Nicole Ritchie Interiors

Hi everybody!
Today I thought I'd show you the process of
another custom illustration that was
 completed not long ago.

This one was for a delightful client,
interior designer Nicole Ritchie.
It was to be an illustration of Nicole in front
of an interior design store with windows
that were filled to the brim with some of her
favorite pieces of furniture and accessories!
She wanted to frame it in her office and
use for future business purposes.

She had the wonderful idea of creating a Pinterest board
called "Inspiration for S" in which she placed
a variety of these favorite pieces for me to come refer to
as inspiration for the illustrations ...
it was a great idea and I had fun doing a little
 furniture "shopping" from her samples
in my decisions of which ones to illustrate
in her windows!

I created this illustration with layers of
 gouache and acrylic washes.
Please forgive the quality of these
first three photos ... they're just quick i-phone shots
of the illustration in progress ...

After the pencil sketch was approved,
the painting of the store began ...
some of the architectural details
 that Nicole mentioned that she loved were the
shingles on Hamptons beach houses
and pretty awnings ...
so I created a white canvas awning above the door
with white drapes flanking the tall topiaries
on either side of the door.
I gave the side windows smaller copper awnings ...


... I sketched the pieces of furniture in the windows
and the chandeliers in the first floor windows
and first pieces of furniture were started ...


... Nicole provided me with a Pinterest photo of a lovely
Dorothy Draper curio that was my inspiration for the
first white and green furniture piece painted, below ....


Many washes of paint later,
the illustration was complete!
Nicole is smaller in this illustration with the store,
but she was also given a separate version
of just the illustration of herself, much larger.
Notice that she's carrying wallpaper books
and bolts of fabric ...


Thank you,
 Nicole Ritchie Interiors!

Have a wonderful second half of the week,
everyone!
If you missed Monday's post entitled
"The Beauty Collector"
be sure to get a dose of beauty here!
See you Friday!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.

INSPIRED

0
0

INSPIRED
Something Blue

Happy Friday, lovelies!
One of my favorite colors is a very pretty shade
of blue green ... you know the one ...
not too blue, not too green ...
to me it feels like summer sunshine
and a breath of fresh air ...
so, of course, I find it very inspiring!










So, of course, I also loved this image from the ad campaign
for the new Oscar de la Renta perfume:
Then, recently ...
I saw a Pinterest mention by OscarPRGirl
that if someone instagrams a blue item
with the hashtag #MySomethingBlue,
she would pin it to her
"My Something Blue" Pinterest board:

So, I couldn't think of a better "something blue"
for me to instagram than the perfume itself,
so I set out to create a quick little "something blue"
to post to instagram with the all-important hashtag:
#MySomethingBlue ...
and a few steps and layers later ...

... it was ready ...
and "My Something Blue"
on its way to Oscar de la Renta Pinterest fame! ;)


Are you on The Vine?
I am, as ILLUSTRATOR SANDY M ...
and you can see a little video of the illustration creation
as it appears HERE on The Vine app.

What "something blue" would you pin?
A favorite blue dress, maybe?
A blue house?
Blue shoes or jewels?
The sea?

Hmmm ... food for thought!
If you missed them, here's what's been happening
this week on Ooh La Frou Frou:
The Beauty Collector
and another post in the
Commissioned series.
Have a great weekend, everyone!



OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration,
contact SANDY here.

The first photos of blue items
in this post can be found on
my "Pale Blue Green" Pinterest board.

The Something Blue photo
of the girl in the fabulous blue tulle
is courtesy of Oscar de la Renta

Illustration of Something Blue perfume
by SANDY M



COULD SHE BE YOU?

0
0
BLACK AND WHITE DREAMS

"She watches herself in a black and white dream,
as she searches for love through each valley and stream;
along each city street and each ocean shore,
she searches each paper and each book and more ...

... she's very aware that time is dancing by,
and if in dreams she could, she would make herself fly;
so she might better look for him, this man she's not yet met,
she knows it will happen soon ...
it just hasn't happened yet ..."

Could she be you?
She knows she's probably passed him on some busy city street ...
and she dreams every night of the day they finally meet.




























Hi everybody!
The "COULD SHE BE YOU" series
is always fun and inspiring for me
 and I hope for you, as it takes us away ...
and maybe your answer to the question
"COULD SHE BE YOU"
is sometimes yes!
Since it's Valentine's week,
I created this fantasy is especially for those of you
that just haven't met THE one yet.

Dreaming up different scenarios always opens
creative doors for me as an artist ...
by travelling to different places and circumstances
through words and photos, ideas begin to flow
for illustrations.

On another note ...
did Mother Nature pay you a visit last week?
If so, it probably made for very snowy Valentine shopping!

Don't forget!
There's a free illustrated fortune cookie gift tag
to add your own fortune to and
 attach to your Valentine's gift (see below) ...
In case you missed the simple instructions
 for assembling the tag, just go to this post.
To go directly to download page
 click HERE and when you get there,
click on the fortune cookie tag link.


See you Wednesday, lovelies!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M
The blog is written
and all illustration is by
SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries,
just drop SANDY a message HERE.

The photographs used in this post
do not belong to me ...
the beautiful photos (and their sources)
can be found on my
BLACK AND WHITE or
DREAMY
Pinterest boards.

IT'S A SECRET

0
0
Happy Wednesday, everybody!

Today's post is just very quick one,
as my illustration schedule is very busy this week ...
custom illustration sketches are in progress on my desk
for some pretty new commissions
and I'm also working on a secret project
that is about half finished ...
I'll just give you a glimpse of corners of that
secret illustration-in-progress below
and I'll show the finished illustration soon!
Who knows ... some of you may be able to figure
it out just from the partial sneak-peek images ...

Sneak-peek #1:


Sneak-peek #2


I love being mysterious (haha!)
Have a lovely Valentine's Day tomorrow
and a fab second-half of the week
and I'll see you Friday, everyone!
If you missed Monday's romantic
"Black and White Dreams" post
in the "Could She Be You" series,
just go HERE ...
after all, it IS Valentine's week!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

The illustrations above are the work of
SANDY M

For custom illustration,
contact Sandy here.

INSPIRED

0
0
INSPIRED
Fashion Icon

Hi lovelies!
Did you all have a great Valentine's Day?
I hope so!


Mine was full of fun surprises
that started with something I'll mention below,
and went on from there to include the delivery of the
pretty white tufted Chloe sofa that I purchased last week,
a bouquet of lavender roses
and a delicious Valentine's dinner out.

Those of you that follow me on
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
have probably seen a few of my mentions of the
Oscar de la Renta inspiration going on with me lately.
It all started when I was inspired to create an illustration
of a bottle of Oscar de la Renta's new perfume,
Something Blue, for the OscarPRGirl's
 "Something Blue" Pinterest board
that I posted about here
and placed a video of it's creation here.

The Oscar PR Girl
 is the lovely Erika Bearman,
SVP, Global Communications,
Oscar de la Renta, NY.
I was thrilled when contacted by
Erika's office a week ago
and told that they loved the illustration and
wanted to feature it on the Oscar de la Renta site.
As if that wasn't enough, they are sending me
a bottle of the fragrance, Something Blue!

So, my happy Valentine's Day started with the surprise
of another e-mail from Erika Bearman's office
notifying me that it was up on the site ...
what a fab Valentine's Day present!


The illustration was one of eighteen images
chosen as favorites in the "My Something Blue"
Pinterest campaign.
To see all eighteen favorites,
go to http://www.oscardelarenta.com/the-house/
and click on the My Something Blue Pinterest Gallery.

As all of this excitement was going on,
I, like many of you, were mesmerized by the
beautiful photograph which was posted on Instagram
by the Oscar PR Girl as a sneak peek into
her amazing new feature on The Coveteur.
That fabulous Oscar de la Renta skirt
she was wearing in the photo inspired this illustration:



I just love to add sparkles to everything ...


If you haven't seen the Erika Bearman feature
on The Coveteur, it takes us to the chic NYC loft of
the Oscar PR Girl herself ...
if you'd like to read it, you can find it here.





{the last three photos from The Coveteur feature}

So much inspiration everywhere you turn ...
what will it be tomorrow?

What have you been inspired by lately?
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
See you Monday!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
drop Sandy a note here.

Playing Hooky

0
0
 Hi darlings!
 Did you have a good weekend?
I so hope so!
I'm doing a little change-up today ...
{Predictable is boring, after all! haha!}
Monday posts are usually the
"Could She Be You" series ...
but that will come later this week.

This winter has been SO cold here,
seven degrees Sunday morning (no kidding)
and I've been spending a LOT of time in the studio ...
so since I worked ALL weekend,
I thought you might like to
start the week off by playing hooky with me today.
This is a familiar February feeling to me
of wanting to grab a map and take off to
places unknown ... the only requirements would be
that where we go would have to include:
the sea, palm trees, umbrella drinks, sunshine and a good book.


Actually, this wanderlust thing has been building inside lately
but this weekend, as I was searching for some swimwear
that would be pretty for some summer illustrations,
it just pushed me over the edge!

So, what do you say?
I'm playing hooky ...  you in?
Where should we go?









It seems like we've been travelling forever ...
are we there yet?
I think I hear the sea ...





.


Let's get our feet wet ...
















Anyone up for a sail?


... or a swim? ...




It's almost sunset ...
I guess we'd better get back to the real world ...


But thanks for playing hooky with me today ...
the escape was definitely just what I needed!

Have a fabulous week!
See you Wednesday!
OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here

The images above are from my
Pinterest boards.

The ocean cinemagraph  via

The sailboat cinemagraph  is by the
oh-so-talented Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg via

RUNWAY

0
0
EVERYTHING'S COMING UP
DIOR POSIES

Once upon a time
I worked for a company that
handled the advertising sales
for some major magazines such as
Rolling Stone and US Magazine.
It always seemed to speed the year further along
when an issue would be closing
three months ahead of the month we were actually in.
For instance, when it was September,
everything we were doing was all about
the Christmas issue.

It's sort of like that with Fashion Week, as well ...
right now we've been looking ahead to fall/winter
before the spring/summer sun even appears.
I was thinking of that today when I ran across a photo
of the hems of skirts as the models awaited backstage
in gorgeous Dior gowns for the Spring/Summer
Haute Couture 2013 fashion show
and I added a quick watercolor reminder
to my sketchbook,
as I often do when I want to remember something
that I found beautiful for future possible illustrations ...


Looking at the beautiful spring gowns and the details,
I was tempted to revisit that Dior Spring/Summer
Haute Couture 2013 fashion show
where the audience sat surrounded by bare trees,
as if winter wasn't quite over,
and on stage the models arose from beneath the ground,
appearing from mounds of green surrounded by
white that resembled snow
 and dressed in gorgeous florals, as if they were
the first flowers of spring themselves.
I loved their rhinestone lips, the almost transparent elbow-length
gloves that some wore and their shoes ... some of them brought to mind
spring's long leaves and fronds wrapping around their feet.
All the while the song
"Angels" by The Xx was the perfect backdrop.







I am always inspired by the runway,
the delicate details of haute couture
and the creativity of the designers.
I thought you might like to revisit this show, as well,
as our way of hurrying up spring
and pretend you're sitting in the audience watching the
models rise from the ground ... and feel as if spring is around the corner!



The first video below is a behind-the-scenes glimpse
of the models preparing in makeup before the show ...



... and following is the Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 show ...
The dresses become more and more elaborate
as the show goes on, so if you're in a rush,
you may want to move ahead to the last third to see
the show's finale and the longer gowns.
It's pretty magical if you haven't seen it.



Thank you, Dior, for creating such inspiring beauty.

 I guess I'm all about dreaming of spring and warmer weather
this week so far ...
I "played hooky" on Monday's post ..
if you missed the post and want to play hooky too,
 just go here.

See you Friday, lovelies!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
drop a note to Sandy here.

Dior Watercolor Sketch above by SANDY M
The two videos via Dior on You Tube
All photos above of
Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 via

COULD SHE BE YOU

0
0
DECOR FASHIONISTA

She sees each empty room as fashion space to fill,
She waves her designer wand to create magic at will;
For bejeweled hats and headbands, her vision is very clear,
Those items would be translated into a sparkling chandelier;

To her, the color on the walls is not a backdrop at all,
It's one of the most important characters at this fashion ball;
The furniture she chooses are supermodels every one,
Some are sophisticated pieces and others just for fun;

With door handles as jewels and bouquets as perfume,
The show is almost complete for her fabulous room;
She's thought of every detail ... she only needs one more,
she can't forget the runway ... a simply breathtaking floor!

COULD SHE BE YOU?




























I don't know about you,
but I love interior design like I love fashion ...
and they are both favorite subjects for illustrating!
As I'm in the midst of decorating my home
that we purchased last year,
this post was a fun one to do ...
now, I must go wave a wand!

Have a wonderful weekend, darlings.
See you Monday!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration,
leave a note for Sandy here.

The Pink Chair & Shoes
illustration is by SANDY M

All of the photos used in this post
are from my:
Pinterest boards entitled:
Pretty Things, Jewelry for the Home,
Living Rooms, Dining Rooms, Beautiful Baths

MUSE

0
0
When an artist sees something that inspires
a piece of artwork or an illustration,
that "something" or "someone" becomes the artist's muse.
Last week on Instagram, Katie Armour
(of the neo-traditionalist and Matchbook Magazine)
posted this image of her darling pug, Alfred,
and her pretty new coral x-bench from Target
(of which I'm now lusting!).

Katie Armour's Instagram of Alfred and the Coral X-Bench

Little did Alfred know when he awoke that day
that he would become a muse
for a quick watercolor study
(photos below are all i-phone snaps as I worked)




Oh, Alfred, you're oh-so-charming ...
and if you're looking for a girl to hang with,
I know a chic one named Lily!

A note on the Target Threshold X-Bench:
I couldn't find it on line,
so it must be available only in stores right now ...
I did find this image, however ...
apparently Target has a whole Coral Collection ...
such a spring happy color ...

via

Speaking of home decor and Target,
this was my latest purchase this weekend
for my own home, which I'm decorating
in a glamorous beach house style
 (since it's on the water) ...



It's the Nate Berkus Tortoise Shell in a creamy white!
The living room is being painted now, and can't wait
to add it to the mix!

Happy Monday, everyone!
Have a fabulous week and I'll see you Wednesday!

LIPSTICK LOVE

0
0
 Hi lovelies ...
wow, it's been a snowy couple of days
where I live and as I've been at my studio desk
busy working on some projects,
it's looked a bit like this at times ...
via 

Occasionally, my schedule is filled with illustration deadlines
that keep me particularly busy
and that's the way it has been this week for me ...
so today, instead of a longer post,
I'm just dropping by to leave you with
my perfect solution to
the white-out that is called winter ...




Good solution, don't you think?
At least we could be spotted in a snowstorm!
Hope you're all having a super great week so far ...
I'll be back on Friday ...
until then ...
have a very COLORFUL remainder of the week!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.

Lipstick illustration above
by SANDY M

Lipstick quote via

COMMISSIONED

0
0
MICHEL GERMAIN
PERFUMES

Hi everyone!
I thought I'd end this busy week with a post in the
COMMISSIONED
series and share with you another of my
custom illustration commissions.

I'm lucky to work with some
fabulous clients.
One of those clients is
MICHEL GERMAIN
Séxual Parfums.
(pronounced SexuALL).
If you follow me on Instagram,
you've seen a photo of the following illustration,
and now you can see how it developed!

When Designer Michel Germain
met and married his beautiful wife, Norma,
he searched for years to find a fragrance
she truly enjoyed.
She told him she would only wear a fragrance
that made her feel beautiful and sexy.
Inspired by her wish,
he was determined to capture her feelings.
He created Sexual.

The line includes fragrances for women and men
and can be found at Bloomindales and Macy's.
I was sent a bottle of the Sexual Sugar fragrance
and I love it ... people always ask me what I'm wearing!
The men's frangrance Sexual Pour Homme
has been the top fragrance at Bloomingdales four years running.

My first illustration for
the fragrance line was for their 2012 Christmas campaign.
I was asked to create a Sexual Parfum girl for them
and for this particular illustration, she would be standing in front of
a beautiful Sexual Parfumerie, doing some holiday
perfume shopping.

For this type of illustration,
I usually work with gouache and acrylics.
As I usually do, I've included a few I-phone snaps
of the work along the way.
After the sketch was drawn and approved by the client,
the illustration work began ...
I just love putting golden light into the windows in my illustrations!
I designed a chic french awning over an arched window
that the logo girl would be standing in front of
and the dog was based upon photos of the real dog
of Norma and Michel Germain ...


The limestone facade was created and adorned with greenery,
a chandelier and lanterns were added,
snow was placed along the sidewalk
and the Sexual Perfume girl's pink sparkly dress
and pink coat were created ... 


Shopping bags are now hanging on her arm,
her long suede gloves and boots appear,
and the charming dog makes his appearance ... 


Items are added to the store window shelves
and a bottle of Sexual Sugar perfume
was added to her hand ... 


And voila!  The finished illustration! 


This was the way the illustration appeared on the
Michel Germain website during the holidays ... 

And a snap was sent to me of the
illustration as it appeared in the stores ... so exciting!


And so much fun!
I just completed a second illustration
for the fragrance line to appear in stores this spring
and am now working on a third.

Thank you Michel Germain!

By the way,
I love the "Flirt App" they have on the website.
where you can click on the parfum bottle spray
 for sexy flirt tips!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
See you Monday!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries,
contact Sandy here.

GRAND ENTRANCE

0
0
WHIPPET NOTES


Don't you love the chic look of whippets?
Are you familiar with them?
They're the elegant English dogs
that resemble greyhounds.

If you follow me, you know that I am
ALWAYS
inspired by things that are chic ...
and whippets ARE chic!
Another thing that I find chic
are grand entrances.
A beautiful entrance to a home can make you
imagine how lovely it must be to live there, as well as
dream up fantasies about the life
 that the family lives there must lead
( "I wonder if they have a butler and gardener?") ...
Here are a few favorite entrances
(most are from one of my Pinterest boards entitled
Grand Entrance). 

  
  





You may be wondering what a whippet has to do with a
Grand Entrance.
Well ...
the things that make an entrance grand are the details ...
beautiful doors and hardware, topiaries, lanterns, plantings ...
and statuary.
I think one of the most elegant statues one could choose
to flank their front door(s) would be the statue
of a whippet or two,
sitting there greeting guests, looking grand ...
suddenly the chic quotient goes up fast ...
speaking of chic,
you may have even noticed that the whippet
is part of Henri Bendel's logo ...


So ......
I thought I'd create a little "chic"
for you ... in the form of a
Whippet Note.
And a personalized one at that!


The blank Whippet Notes come in packs of ten
 with white envelopes.
You can choose to have the notes with or without
personalization.
Price: $15 plus shipping/handling for pack of 10,
with or without personalization.

If you choose personalization, the script would be
the hot pink color and font of the sample above.
I recommend a name with no more than ten letters
(including spaces) or else the font would get too small.

If you'd like to receive the notes WITHOUT personalization,
leave the "Name on Notecard " box below BLANK
and just click "Add to Cart" to complete order.

If you WOULD like personalization,
fill in the name you'd like on your cards in the
"Name on Notecard" box
(remember, no more than 10 letters including spaces)
and then once the name is typed in the box,
click "Add to Cart" to complete.

Notes will be mailed within two weeks of order.


                                                  Name on Notecard
                                                    



Have a very chic week!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries
drop Sandy a note here.

Whippet illustration is by illustrator
SANDY M

DANCING SHOES

0
0
 Hi everyone!
 I'm wondering ... do you have spring fever too?
I think maybe it's the fact that I've been
decorating my living room with beach house details
and it's pushing me a bit over the edge.
It has me thinking about spring and color
and the water out back that's covered by ice now
 and how I can't wait to sit in the sun and gaze at the lily pads
with a glass of iced tea and a good book ...
you with me?

And how much do we look forward to
kicking off the socks and boots and
slipping sleek bare feet into some cute flats!
So ...  let's put on our spring dancing shoes
and click our heels and make a wish ...
maybe spring will come even sooner!

Spring always makes me happy, of course,
but do you know what else does?
Kate Spade.
I love a little Kate Spade whimsy.
I mean ... living colorfully is a really good thing, no?
So what better dancing shoes could we slip into
than these Kate Spade dancing darlings?

The chic leopard flats with the
hot pink patent toe and black patent heel is the
Terry
The pretty mint flat with the silver toe is the
Ginny Too Flat
The black and white stripe flat
with the gold glitter toe is the
Trixie

So, what do you say ...
dance away, my darlings, and let's bring on the tulips!



On a closing note ...
 if you missed Monday's post,
elegant personalized
"Whippet Blank Notes," featuring
a new illustration of a chic whippet dog
are available for purchase
for a limited time
on the Grand Entrance post!


See you Friday, lovelies!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.

Kate Spade Shoe Illustrations
by SANDY M

Photo of tulips via

INSPIRED

0
0
 THE LUXE LIFE

 I thought I'd end the week with a little fun
 and send you into the weekend
with a little glamorous inspiration.
I have a Pinterest board called
THE LUXE LIFE
and it's fun, fantasy playland of the rich life.
Have fun dreaming with me ...
what if we could awake everyday
and have it be exactly as we wished?
How would you start the day?
I think I'd probably have a massage
at least five days a week!
Talk about inspiring!
Dream away ...






.








































Oh, James ... bring the car around, would you?




Happy Weekend, Everyone!
If you missed
Monday's and Wednesday's posts
and would like to drop by,
here are the links to:
"Grand Entrance" and "Dancing Shoes"
See you Monday!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.

The sources for the images above
can be found on Sandy's
THE LUXE LIFE
Pinterest Board.

SPRING AHEAD

0
0

If you, like myself, live in a part of the world
that participates in daylight savings time,
this last weekend we changed our clocks ahead an hour
and refer to it as "springing ahead."
I take that as my cue (doesn't take much)
 to start looking for leaf buds on the trees and
tulips to pop out of the ground.
I know, I know ... springing ahead doesn't mean it's spring.
But, in my mind when we switch to daylight savings
and the light stays around longer,
it's officially A-OK to be in a SPRING mood!

Add to that the fact that this weekend
we had beautiful sunshine and
that the temperature on Sunday rose to an
almost balmy fifty-nine degrees (Fahrenheit)
and I'm in spring heaven.
We took a Sunday drive to celebrate the occasion
(just love those, don't you?)
and took a walk in the warmth of the sun ...
it was heavenly!
Were you in a spring celebration mood too?
Did you celebrate "spring ahead" or am I alone here? lol

Let me be the first to wish you all
Happy Spring Ahead
and let's consider it the launching off
of loads of springtime fun!
It's official gang.

See you Wednesday!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.

INSPIRED

0
0
THE INSPIRATION OF LUXE HOTELS

It's one of those busy weeks in my illustration schedule ..
four illustration commissions in the works at one time ...
so I thought it was the perfect time for an
INSPIRED post since I need to take a break myself
and what better way to take a break
than visit something virtually that inspires?
This time, it's luxe hotels.
Do you love them as much as I do?
After a trip to a beautiful hotel,
even if it's for lunch
 or walking around the lobby,
I leave with fresh inspiration
for an illustration or painting.
It never fails.

Crisp white dining room tablecloths,
for instance, can inspire me.
So can things like expanses of marble floors,
silver domes on room service carts,
shiny brass luggage carts,
hotel maids and bellboys in their uniforms,
beautiful historic elevator doors ...
lounge chairs lined up by the pool ...
not to mention the people that are all around me.
I'm always snapping photos of things that others
probably don't look twice at.

So, come with me for a little mid-week inspiration ...
and let's pretend we're checking in ...

Palace Hotel, San Francisco

Tea at the Ritz, London


Hotel Four Seasons, George V Paris

The Peninsula, New York


St. Regis, New York


The Ritz, Paris

The Greenbriar, West Virginia


The Mandarin Oriental, London


The Cypress Inn, Carmel, California (Doris Day, co-owner)


Penthouse Suite, Four Seasons New York

Ahhhh, hotels always make me feel so wonderful ...
I guess I'll have to check in for a weekend somewhere soon,
it's been too long ...
But before I explore the hotel, I may want to
call up a massage, pick something extravagant
 from room service and take a nice long nap ...



A girl can dream ... right?
But now that I'm inspired,
it's back to work for the time being.
Do you have a favorite hotel?
See you Friday!



OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries
contact Sandy here.

Images above were from
Ooh La Frou Frou's
Luxe Hotels and My Bags are Packed
Pinterest boards.

COULD SHE BE YOU

0
0
 TOPIARY GIRL

Topiaries TopiariesTopiaries,
She just loves the sound;
She could never have nearly enough
Of their whimsy all around.

Every shrub she passes by
She eyes with a hand on her sheers;
Would that one make the perfect bunny of green
or the first in a grand row of spheres?

Just when she thinks she may have just enough,
She carts home one or two more;
And although she spends time at glamorous boutiques,
She's her happiest at the topiary store.

COULD SHE BE YOU?
























What better way to send ourselves into the weekend
than with thoughts of stepping into a greenhouse
filled with topiaries?
One of my favorite things to do in the summer
visit greenhouses filled with sun
and the sound of trickling water from a fountain
and the scent of green and flowers all around.
Normally a post like this would have been accompanied
by a topiary girl illustration, but you know since I myself
am a Topiary Girl that you will see one of those
sometime in the future.
As you know, this has been
 one of those very busy weeks
filled with illustration deadlines
and little time for anything else ...
but I'll be able to share those illustrations too
with you later!

Have a glorious weekend
filled with thoughts of spring!
Until Monday, darlings...


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries
drop Sandy a note here.

The topiary photos above
are from my Luxe Landscaping
Pinterest Board with the exception of
the fifth photo:
the dogs on the back of the truck ( via )
and the sixth photo:
rider and horse jumping over fence with dogs ( via )

COMMISSIONED

0
0

ONE STYLE AT A TIME

Happy Monday, loves!
For this post in the
COMMISSIONED
series, I thought I'd share with you
a recent custom fashion illustration commission
created for Maria of the superb fashion blog:
One Style At A Time.
If you're a fan of fashion and not yet familiar with Maria,
I know you'll love One Style At A Time.
Maria is very fashion savvy,
so it's  perfect that she lives
in the fashion capital of the world,
New York City.

The new illustration made it's debut
on One Style At A Time this last weekend
when the blog celebrated it's
oh-so-fashionable two-year anniversary ...
congratulations, Maria!

THE ILLUSTRATION
When Maria contacted me for a commission,
we discussed a variety of options and poses
for her fashion illustration that she wished to use as
her new blog header and avi.
With a "sitting at her desk" pose selected,
we quickly moved on to the other details that
she wished to see in her illustration.
This is always such a fun part when clients
choose what they'd like to see created ...
sort of like shopping!
I asked Maria to send me photos of herself,
as well as a list of the items she would like included
 (and photos of those items if she had them),
and also what she would like to be wearing in the illustration.
Some of the items Maria chose were:
a glam mirrored desk, pink peonies,
a classic black Chanel 2.55 handbag,
a Hermes Birkin bag at her feet,
fashion books on her desk
and a french chandelier.

Once I received all the info,
it was time for sketching to begin ...
and once a first rough sketch was completed,
it was e-mailed to Maria for approval.
I've grouped together some of the images
of the fashion illustration of Maria
from first sketch of her face (upper left)
and complete rough pencil sketch (just below it)
to steps along the way after painting had begun ...


When I had completed the Birkin bag and its contents,
 I e-mailed Maria and included a little tease as an attachment.
It was a sneak-peek of the Birkin bag
I was placing at her feet in the illustration.
Her bag was filled with the March 2013 issue of Vogue
(the month and year of her two year blog anniversary).
You may be able to just make out a little of the face
of Beyonce on the cover of the issue ...

I also added a chic silk scarf peeking out
over the side of the bag ...
here's the attachment Maria received ....




Ahhhh, Birkin ...
so much fun ...
I'm such a tease, I know.

For an illustration such as this one,
I often paint with layers of gouache and acrylics.
It's essentially a painting as I would do on canvas,
but for an illustration, the painting is created on illustration board
so that it can be scanned when complete
and placed in electronic file format to be e-mailed
to the client.

Soooooo ...
when the illustration was complete,
it was e-mailed to Maria ...

And below is the illustration
as it appears on Maria's header ...
she found the perfect font to embellish it!


Here's the link to
One Style At A Time
so you can see it in person ...
thanks, Maria, it was so much fun!
Now ...
what are we going to create for your
three-year anniversary, I wonder? lol

Have a wonderful week, everyone!
Thanks so much for joining me!
See you Wednesday!

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

To custom illustration inquiries,
drop Sandy a note here.

Issue photo:
Vogue Magazine

HOT

0
0
I don't know about you
but I'm so much more inspired in sunshine.
These days it's been snowy and blowy here so
I thought that perhaps a post on something a little
HOT
may just bring on spring ... what do you think??
And how much HOT would it take?
Hmmmmm ....
So I interrupt our regularly scheduled programming
to bring on spring!
You with me?






































Did it work, do you think?
See you Friday!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration inquiries
drop Sandy a note here.

All of the hot pink images in this post
can be found via my
Never Enough Pink
Pinterest board.
with the exception of the image of the sea
which is from my Summer Pinterest board.
{Shoe image via David Lewis Photography}
Viewing all 68 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images