Treat

Natural hair illustrations

In an attempt to resurrect my drawing skills, I've decided to draw a few items that are a regular part of my "Saturday" morning (which isn't always Saturday morning). My challenge is to "draw more expressively." But, as Milton Glaser said in the video from my October 13th post, "you have to learn to draw accurately before you can think about drawing expressively." I do know that some of my work—in my high school years—had a touch of humor. Maybe I'll start to work from what I know.

Click the image to see it larger and clearer. I tend to draw lightly, so I had to pump up the contrast in Photoshop.

My name—inspired by Frank Stella

I love talking to my parents and learning a little bit more about myself—like one of the inspirations behind my name.

One night, my Dad—who was a painter when I was little—created a painting that was inspired by Frank Stella's Tahki-I-Sulayman I (1967). Thus, "Derilyn" was born. My "D" painting—as I call it—was different from Stella's of course. The layout of the "Ds" were different, and I remember my Dad used a lot of greens and yellows.

From what I remember, my Dad's paintings were usually realistic, and he painted with oils, watercolors, some acrylic, charcoal pencils, or conté (what I used to call his French crayons). He drew from live subjects or he would take a photograph of something he saw, draw it, and paint it.

Although my parents no longer have that "D" painting my Dad painted that night, I remember it fondly.

If you don't know much about Frank Stella. Click here to learn more about his work.

Miss Shirley's Café

I visited my sister over Columbus Day weekend, and she treated me to a wonderful brunch—Miss Shirley's Café in Baltimore. We had to pay homage to our southern roots. Unfortunately, because I was so hungry, I didn't think to take photos of the meal, but it looks and tastes really good. We had the Two Eggs Any Style with a side of Fried Green Tomatoes and fresh squeezed orange juice. Check out the menu: Download Menu.

Sketchbook – My high school watch

Another high school sketch. This one was stippled. Remember stippling?

  

Living room sketches

To follow up with the "cube in environment" sketch I did in high school, here are more recent sketches of living room objects. These are a bit more simplified; not as much details as my high school sketches, but nevertheless, could create an interesting story. The challenge now is to bring these to life.

 

From my high school sketchbook

I've been working on distancing myself a little more from the computer (see Raiders of the Lost Art and Computer Hypnotism)—trying to not get caught up in illustrating in Illustrator. It's been hard, I must admit, but I do feel more relaxed sketching on paper than on the computer. How many of you keep your sketches? What about from high school? Yeah, I still have a couple of sketches from high school. I gave away or threw away most of my work, but I did manage to keep a couple of sketches from my art class sketchbook. Since my work has been packed up, I thought I'd let it see the light by sharing a couple of sketches.

The assignment for this illustration was to draw a cube in its environment. It's interesting to look back on this because I can see how I was more detailed with my work than I am now. I will also share some of work I've done in the past couple of months. It's been a slow process getting back to paper, so the work isn't quite as detailed, but the details—I'm sure—will come. 

I'd love to share your work as well. Share your sketches by sending them to treatblog@gmail.com.

Remembering MJ

I was shocked when I heard about Michael Jackson's death yesterday. My husband and I reminisced about all the songs we could remember (there were so many of them). Later, I spoke with my brother and reminisced even more. Michael Jackson's music was the soundtrack to many of our childhood memories in the 80s.

I was a big Michael Jackson fan. I had a poster of the pink album cover on the left, and of course the original Thriller album. Can't deny the cultural influence Michael Jackson had on pop culture. It's also interesting to think that I started out listening to his music on vinyl, then a cassette tape on my Walkman; Later a CD and now, his music is in my iTunes, iPod, and iPhone.

I had to commemorate him.

Raiders of the Lost Art

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post called Computer Hypnotism, after realizing that I've been personally affected by this phenomena. I've been working so much on the computer that it has become a crutch. It has become easier to use hand and mouse rather than hand and pencil, and this makes it easier to lose one's natural artistic talent. Don't you feel a disconnect when creating on the computer? Doesn't it feel a bit artificial? There's no substitute for hand done illustration.

Frankly, I didn't realize it until my Dad mentioned something about my own work, and it really made me think. Part of what he said helped me to realize that I was forgetting how to draw—which is how I started along the path to design in the first place.

What I decided to do, since I realized that the patience I once had was no longer there, was to start by drawing the objects around me. So, I'm starting slowly, but surely. 

So, Designers/Creatives who have been captivated by the raiders of the lost art, I challenge you too to get away from the computer for a while and go back to the basics. Pull out your pencils, your paintbrushes, your conte crayons, or whatever medium/media you use to use! Take a step away from your computer—actually, go into another room and nurture that natural ability you once had! Afterall, you never know what you might create!

My Design Youth Forum Update

Just wanted to let you know that the Design Youth Forum that took place on Friday, March 27th at UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago) was a success. The students took a class in Graphic Design, Fashion, Industrial, Multi-Media, Interior Design, or Architecture with the theme being Sustainability. The students had so much fun, and I did too. It's amazing to hear the thoughts of young kids. They see ideas that older adults take for granted. So, it was refreshing to hear they're thoughts and see their brightened eyes and smiles when we exchanged ideas. So, if you ever have the time, it would be great to meet some of my Treat readers at one of the Project Osmosis events. I'll be continuing to post events in the future, so be on the look out!

Poem: Winter Blues

Here's a poem that I wrote years and years ago. I thought I'd share it since Spring is right around the corner.  I took the photo last month and did a little Photoshopping with it. Submit your own poetry or quotes to share on Treat, or share your interpretations of this poem.

Winter Blues
White, Blue
Icicles too
Mounded ground
Snow falling down

Cold, Bold
Words untold
Quick looks
Only books

No leaves
Bare trees
Blue sky
Birds Hide
Scarfs, Caps
Coats, Naps

Wind, what friends?
Need some gin

What to do with winter blues?
Love, wait, 'tis gone soon.

—Derilyn Chambers

Obama and McCain's position on the Arts

Attention all Designers, Artists, Creatives, or supporters of the arts! Here's one more issue to consider—or just one to know about—when you go to the polls (if you haven't already).

I've tried so hard to not put anything political on my blog, but the information that I'm about to provide for you is something that is near and dear to my heart.

As you may know—or suspect—I am a supporter of the arts. Because the arts have been such a big part of my life, I was curious to know Obama and McCain's position.

Originally, I had written a long paragraph outlining one simple reason why the arts is so important, but I think putting it simply can be just as justifiable as writing several pages. Here are just a few to think about: 1. To foster innovation 2. To ease our tensions 3. To remind us to be compassionate 4. To connect and to help us understand ourselves and the world. 5. To learn the stories of our past.

Americans for the Arts provides some other reasons why the arts are important.

Now, I must say, that whatever I write on my blog about politics are either my own ideas, or views that I personally support. It does not mean that the people, businesses, or anything else within my blog support these same views. Some may, some may not.

Ok. Considering we all have limited time these days, I was hoping to find the candidate's arts policies on their respective campaign web-sites;however, I only found information about Barack Obama's position on the arts. According to Arts Vote, a program of the Americans for the Arts, John McCain does not have an Arts platform. Here's a little information about how the candidates stand on the arts. Click here. Please read Barack Obama's full plan on the arts by clicking the link below.

Barack Obama's position on the arts:

Arts—Our nation's creativity has filled the world's libraries, museums, recital halls, movie houses, and marketplaces with works of genius. The arts embody the American spirit of self-definition. As the author of two best-selling books – Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama uniquely appreciates the role and value of creative expression.  Read the full plan (source: barackobama.com).

I have already voted. I hope you have too, or that you will be voting November 4.

A little about me

I've been writing a blog for almost a year now—wow, nearly a year—and I've never really introduced myself. I was going to post this on my birthday, which was last Wednesday, but as you may know, my computer broke down. So, I had to take a few days off. Now, that I have a new computer, I am posting what originally was going to be posted during my birthday week. Here's my attempt to interview myself and share a little about me. You can also learn more about me by checking out an interview I had with Fly.

What's my name? Derilyn Chambers. My first name is often mispronounced, but the pronunciation is really quite simple. it's pronounced like Marilyn. Once I tell people this, it's usually followed by an aha moment.

Where am I from? I'm originally from Chattanooga, TN, but I've lived in 5 other states and 7 cities. I now live in Chicagoland.

What do I do? I've been a Graphic Designer for a little over 5 years. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English Arts, and went to Portfolio Center in Atlanta for Design. I started my design career as a Greetings Designer at Hallmark. So, I've designed greeting cards. I moved on to designing packaging, brand identities, logos, and now publication design. It doesn't matter what the media is, it's the process, the journey of designing that I love the most. You can read a more about how I started in Design by checking out my About Me page.

My favorite color? For a long time, I thought I had one favorite color. When people asked me what my favorite color was, I'd say "blue." Then, I realized that "blue" was more of a crutch because everyone had one favorite color. I've always loved many different colors. So, in essence, I don't have one favorite color. I love all colors. Color is relative. It depends on the time, place, and so many other factors.

My style? It's kind of like my favorite color. It changes. I love contemporary, classic, feminine looks with bohemian accessories. If I could own a thousand pairs of earrings, belts, scarves, bracelets, shoes, purses—you get the idea—then, I would. I love accessories!

What do I do in my spare time? What exactly is spare time? Who has that anymore? Well—writing this blog, collaging and surfing on the internet for inspiring images, volunteering, exercising, reading, cooking, and the list goes on. I'm never bored.

What's in my iTunes? I haven't been too impressed with most of the music that's out these days. I don't listen to the radio anymore. If I do, it's talk radio or a smooth jazz station. Right now i'm in a reminiscing stage right now. I'm listening to Digable Planets, Pretty Brown Eyes by Mint Condition, Kiss from a Rose by Seal, Don't Know Why by Norah Jones, Angie Stone, Common, and others. My favorite artist right now is Corinne Bailey Rae. Check out my iTunes library in the left column of my blog. I do like Janet's new song Feedback. I've always been a Janet fan.

My favorite quote? Would be one that my mom gave me when I was in junior high school. It goes: "The present conditions and dark circumstances may make it appear that I have not a chance. The odds are against me, this I admit. I haven't much to boast of, just a little faith and grit. In spite of the things that stand in my way, I'm determined to be somebody some day."

Tomorrow's post: Natural hair inspirations.