My Style. Looking At Mirror And What Did I See.

I haven’t seen anything spectacular lately on the streets so I think why not look at the mirror for a change. In Summer = lot of light = I love to dress up in light tones. Part of the fun is to mix my favorite patterns; stripes, plaid and dots. Mostly two at a time. Colour palette is something like white, sky blue, sand, pale gray. And the mood is good.

There is also another reason to look at the mirror. To be more concrete inside my head. I’m taking part in an online class for illustrators. There I’m supposed to analyze and think various mind blowing questions like What do you want to achieve with your illustrations.

When I was blogging the first year here at Flash For Zonzon I showed this blog to one lady - let’s call her lady Portal - who had started a blog portal for Finnish Fashion Bloggers. I was curious to hear her opinion. She looked at this blog instantly from laptop. At that point I had some ten posts done. After a while she aroused her eyes and asked me with a slight amount of suspicion in her voice: Where are you heading with this?

I was like: Uuuu, I like to draw…

At that point I hadn’t really thought it too much. I started this blog four years ago as a sidekick from my daily job as graphic design and entrepreneur. That is so much computer-related work. So I needed a way to experiment with traditional illustration techniques like watercolor, ink, pastel, color pencils, line drawing, paper cut and mixed media of all of these.

To do illustrations without a need to please anybody else than me is pure joy. Feeling the connection straight from head to hand is utmost relaxing. (By the way, that’s the secret of nowadays popular adults coloring books.) Of course  one important aspect was to get a way to express my ideas related with clothing. I am a cloth designer for first profession, anyway. Relax and have fun. With the idea that if I have fun making it maybe the audience will like it too.

 Lady Portal apparently thought that what’s the point using time and energy for a blog with no ads, no photographs of the outfit-of-the-day, no connections with clothing brands, no shopping tips where to get this and that style, no followers. In other words no nothing that is typical for fashion blogs as we know it.

Okay, but now let’s face it. My secret subconscious plan with this blog has been to become a better illustrator. At least I get an ever growing portfolio of illustrations along blogging. Maybe some day I get commissions through blog to do fashion illustrations to some media, fashion house, clothing brand, magazine, what ever. But with hands full of graphic design customer work and family life I haven’t time to do any marketing for my illustrations. I have thought that by chance the illustration work may come.

But it haven’t.
Truth is that a blog like this is like an ant sailing Ocean with a blade of grass. The possibility to run into ground is pretty minimal.

Another thing is the ping pong in my head. Is my illustration any good? I know that the duo with my stories and illustrations is okay, but illustrations alone? Does anybody need fashion illustration? Do I loose the joy of drawing if I do it on demand? But maybe then I might be able to really concentrate on making pics. Now everything is done pretty fast after 9PM when kids have gone to sleep. What would the quality of my illustrations be if I could use more time making it? And so on.

Well, it’s time to do an action plan. How to find a sensible not time-eating way to promote illustrations or do some profitable things with this blog. The sad truth is that I have so much ideas in my head. Really, is it sad? Ideas for blog posts, for products, for patterns (which I’d love to concentrate on). Should I fill a lottery coupon to pay my bills for a while?

By taking part of the previously mentioned online illustration class I have promised myself that I try to move on with my ideas with Flash For Zonzon. First step is to do a online portfolio of the créme de la créme illustrations. Then I’m working on at least to get some products alive sooner or later. Like postcards or T-shirt prints for example. Small steps, little by little. Can you hear my war cry in your ears yet?

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Thanks for reading my whole outburst. I promise this will not happen too often.

PS. The canvas shoes are still alive that perform in the third picture. Four summers and still kicking.