All Pencils of Mine Are Sugar-plums

Joanna Newsom for The Music Regime

2012-02-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

Good night!

You might remember the music blog I started with Karina Jarv and Mark Standbrook last year. I am happy to announce that it is revived and bears the name The Music Regime

There will be posts on music-related illustrations, musicians' portraits, album art and many more! Three new posts have been added today, so go and check them out!

Also, you're welcome to submit your music-related artworks to our blog and get featured!

Sweet dreams for now and listen to this before bed:

The Tale of Darles Chickens, PRISMA and Music Regime

2012-02-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

'Tis the day to be jolly as I with many many others celebrate Charles Dickens's 200th birthday! It's also my mum's birthday and we are having a cake. And on this special day all I wish you, dear readers, is to live a long happy life and read Dickens! Read The Tale of Two Cities, re-read David Copperfield, sing a song from Oliver Twist musical, watch Mickey's Christmas Carol, grow a lovely beard if you're a gentleman and buy yourself a beautiful new dress if you're a lady, take a holiday at the sea-side and remember: 'tis love that makes the world go round!
Today I also want to share with you some spiffing news! I have become a proud member of
PRISMA Artist Collective, which is an international artist collective consisting of 26 creatives from all around the world who engage in active discussion and collaboration. Now isn't that exciting? And this all happened (and is still happening, there are group shows coming up!) by the magic of Kaspian Shore, who is not only a very talented artist and a world-renowned magician, but also an idea-generating individual and a dear friend. I can write the words of admiration for all the artists in this collective, among them Mary Jane Ansell, of whom I've been a great admirer since I first saw her work at the NPG in London, also my Mexican friend Lady Orlando, who uses her magical powers to create worlds of wonderful art, Nicole Gustafsson whose woody fairy-tale landscapes I adore and many others, you'll find more about everyone and the links on PRISMA facebook page! I will also keep you updated on what happens in the group, there are going to be giveaways, interviews (some of them are already online) and of course shows! So stay tuned, as they say!
The third news is the revival of The Music Regime blog with Mark and Karina. It's in the process of regeneration, as we are adding some new posts and art and accepting music-themed submissions from other artists and illustrators! Our blog from now on will feature artworks depicting musicians, illustrations of songs, cover art or posters and other works connected with the world of music. Karina, Mark and me would all love to see your works if they match our topic, that is, and you are welcome to submit them here!
Here's a glimpse of my first drawing for The Music Regime and it is Nick Cave. More to come from me (Joanna Newsom and Maurice Ravel are on their way!) and my fellows!
And for now, have a beautiful week and stay warm

love,

Daria

Friday, I'm in my room

2012-01-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

Good evening, ladies, gentlemen and their pets!
I am here to remind you that it is Friday, that it is never late to read a good fairy-tale, and that you can vote for my drawing (inspired by the CURE in a contest by Secret 7s, Talenthouse to help Teenage Cancer Trust) via facebook or twitter for Cure and for Florence it will only take a second really! and thanks a million if you do! Being a fan of the Cure for... 10.. 15? maybe even more years, since I first saw Close To Me (and having rather imaginative nightmares after that) on MTV I remain a constant listener and dreamer and there was no way I could miss drawing a little corner of the Cure world I imagine to myself. but only a tiny nook!

And as to Florence, she is a rare talent. I am very thankful for some of her songs, which have become very quickly my personal musical diary pages.

And now, dance!

xxx

Daria

2011

2011-12-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Greeting from the edge of the world!

'Tis the last Friday of 2011, so let me make this last post of the glorious year as informative and filled with pictures as it can be possible!
If only 2011 were a person, I'd give it a great big hug. There were ups and downs, but I learned to give my undivided attention to the good things. I think the list of these good things will go on and on, and among them there will be my falling in love with Italy, long walks in Rome and Venice, how i finally learned to make a carrot cake, my friends, wonderful people I finally met (hello, Amelia!), new exciting acquaintances, re-discovering Mike Patton, Lionheart and Ballad Of, my t-shirts getting printed and Obolochka, Institute Benjamenta (thanks, Emma!), learning Italian, Ravel and Saint Saens, Lupine Osmunda (thanks, Faye!), watching the last part of Harry Potter and crying all through the ridiculous epilogue scene, making a couple of decisions, opportunities, keeping wonderful secrets (thank you, Kaspian!), Fellini, letters and other mail, understanding a few things, collaborations and projects I've been a part of...and of course, most importantly, eating a pistachio gelato in a cafe in Trastevere, Rome... I hope you had a great year, too! Now, 2012, be kind to everyone please and treat me to some more of that heavenly gelato, I beg you!
I have told you before I was drawing two characters from the Lord Of The Rings (i'm very excited about the Hobbit movie, and might draw someone from it next year!) Here's an unfinished Aragorn and almost complete Legolas!
I'm also sharing with you the drawing for the Cure (for talenthouse/secret 7 competition) which I did but submitted another one, which you can see here. The voting is not open yet, but you can still support it if you like! I'll be very much obliged to you! x Also, I couldn't miss an opportunity to draw something for Florence and the Machine. Anyway, I'll do another post about this next year :) And for now, Happy New Year! Cheers!

Lionheart!

2011-12-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

At last one of our dreams has come true! From the heart and mind of Helen Martin (whom I met through Amelia's Magazine ) comes this gorgeous illustrated little book, which is

Lionheart magazine

I remember how it all started as a pipe-dream and slowly but surely developed into this beautiful magazine full of excellent stories (particularly enjoyed the one about conquering the fears by Freya Hardy, Pat Albeck's, Fritha's and Lee May's (of Bonbi Forest) interviews + of course many more!) and art from Emma Block, Abby Wright, Faye West, Karolina Burdon, and Gemma Milly to mention but a few! I am also proud to be a part of the first issue, and I'm sure there'll be more to come and buy and read and enjoy! Helen the lionheart, you are really brave and it's wonderful when dreams come true!

Non m'importa se lunedi è blu!

2011-12-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

Today I thought: to make things confusing, why not write a blogpost in Italian?
So brace yourself!
Comunque, se siete Italiano, fatemi sapere se è possibile leggere questo, per favore..
Allora, oggi è stata una bella giornata e spero che domani sarà ancora meglio! Ho passato alcuni giorni ad ascoltare The Cure! Se leggete questo blog, sapete quanto amo questa band!! Adesso sto mangiando un mandarino e disegnando qualcosa connessi con loro musica... Finora, questo non sembra un post molto informativo, vero? Vorrei condividere con voi il mio disegno, che potete trovare in un meraviglioso Lionheart Magazine (grazie a Helen Martin! xxx)
Spero, che tutti chi hanno capito che ho scritto, avranno una meravigliosa settimana! (scusi per gli errori )
Per tutti gli altri: Keep calm and learn Italian! Have a great week! xxx

A proposito, clicca qui per comprare il mio disegno di Natale!

christmas

2011-11-21T11:10:00.001-08:00

Another Christmas drawing! Like it?

Also, please, please spread the word about this >>>

so it can get printed and be a poster or a greeting card. Voting can be done by logging in via Facebook (easy and quick) or by registering (for die-hard fans haha:) Thanks so much and sorry for self-advertising!

keep warm, drink tea, eat an apple a day and never pay attention to shallow things

lots of love and three kisses

Daria

Christmas and Legolas

2011-11-19T10:46:00.001-08:00

Evening to you all,

I've been silent for some time, but by no means passive.

I visited World Travel Market as part of my job, and when I had free time was also very happy to meet the wonderful Amelia Gregory, see Ghosts of Gone birds show at Rochelle school, meet my favourite people, stand for about an hour simply looking at one of the most beautiful buildings in whole wide world, which is St Pancras Station, listen to Ravel at Wigmore Hall, eat some excellent eclairs and enjoy Mark Rylance's great performance in Jerusalem. So you can see my business trip turned out to be extremely enjoyable and packed with loveliness and excitement. Meanwhile, my drawing and collage-making activities remained at the same point, where I left them. I have a lot of drawing to catch up with!

However, I can show you this Christmas-themed drawing I did....

and also, a glimpse of a portrait I'm working on right now. I never show my drawings in progress, but I decided to share this one with you, because it's big, time consuming, and will take me ages to complete unless you, ladies and gentlemen, urge me to do it quicker :) I hope you can recognize the character, who is Legolas. The idea of me drawing a Lord of the Rings character was born in a late-night conversation between myself and my two very talented artist friends Kaspian Shore and Lady Orlando, so I decided to give it a shot, as I'm a big fan of Tolkien and I actually am half an elf hahhaha)) Another portrait that I've started on is Aragorn. Maybe there's another character you'd like me to draw? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Toodle-oo!

Underneath the Juniper Tree

2011-11-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the new issue of Underneath the Juniper Tree. Have a lovely nightmare for a change!

Daria

Wolf at the Door

2011-10-31T06:23:00.000-07:00

Happy spookiest day of the year to you!
I hope you celebrate in style and eat a lot of apples and pumpkins.

What have I been to, you'll ask (or not...) I have at last started on personal drawings that I've been putting off for ages. It feels great - complete freedom, but working late, because I haven't much free time in the daytime. I've completed a lovely musical commission, which I'll share with you later. It's such a pleasure for me to produce drawings for music... Also, you might have noticed, I've been taking part in some competitions.

So here's the last (I promise) bit of self-advertising.... I submitted the image my readers all are familiar with to Chirply, a San Fransisco based company, who produce greeting cards. You know that I don't have any prints/cards/etc for sale online, so I thought this can be a good start. So, yeah, basically, if you support the idea of this getting printed and sold online, then I'd greatly appreciate your effort to vote (you can log in with facebook ;) And thanks to all of you who do that for me, I really really value all your feedback so much!

Thank you and other news

2011-10-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

Hello dear readers and friends!
How have you been spending your autumn days? Are you enjoying the yellowness and windiness of October?

I'd like to thank you for supporting my owl design which got into the top 10 and, although it won't be printed on a T-shirt, the print itself will appear on show in Ghosts Gallery from 2-23 November at Rochelle School in Shoreditch, London. I am very excited about it, as I think it's a great cause, spreading the word about extinct and endangered animals and birds.
So thanks a million for all your support and votes! And check out the winners here at All Tropical site
Another thing I'd like to share is my drawings for sale. It's the final week before the sale closes on October, 31st. So I decided to make a discount on all of the 4 remaining pieces. Click here to view/buy my original drawings. I have other plans for these drawings after the sale finishes, so if you want any of them, better grab them now :)
Also, here's a spread from Ampersand Magazine a lovely online source for curious things!

Hmm... what else? Have had a series of adventurous dreams which included flying over San Francisco, getting a maximum result on my IQ test and seeing a play by Chekhov performed on the lake. I was told eating cheese causes nightmares (and I ate quite a lot!), but in this case, the dreams were quite pleasant.

I'll leave you with a fragment of my childhood. Have a peaceful and beautiful week!
xxx
Daria

Laughing Owl/Talking Head/Amelia's Magazine

2011-10-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

Good Evening dear ladies and gentlemen!

How are you spending your Friday? Are you hot? Are you drinking enough lemonade? I hope you are!

Anyway, I'm taking part in the competition organised by All Tropical and Ghosts of Gone Birds

I couldn't have missed this chance to draw an extinct bird. You know how much I love animals and birds and I only regret I was too busy to draw only one. I would very much appreciate your time and effort if you rated my drawing. You can also share/tweet or like it on facebook, everything counts and the top 2 designs will be printed on tees for the special exhibition!

Rate "Laughing Owl is Crying"

In other news I've been asked to illustrate a poem for the super duper scary and Halloween-ish issue of Underneath the Juniper Tree

I enjoyed it immensely, I'd recommend you spend an evening reading the stories and poems in this wonderfully imaginative online magazine!

And, I couldn't miss the call by Amelia Gregory for the illos of Swatch in Venice. I love this city so much. You can read the full article in Amelias Magazine

xxx

Daria

Sunday post

2011-09-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday is here! It's time to share what beautiful things I've received this month. Haven't found frames for everything, but will do so in the nearest future.
These beautiful prints and drawings are from the amazing Kerri-Ann Hulme, whose giveaway I won! Mr Rabbit, you look so good on my wall!

This beautiful painting of a young dreaming gentleman is from Kaspian Shore. Come on, have a look at his art - it's gorgeous!

A dreamy hand-made card came from fantastic Judith Clay. Check out her fairy-tale artworks, they are a treasure!

And finally this little precious music zine (keeping an eye on the cool, fresh and promising musicians) with fab illustrations came from Gerlin from We Promised.
Thank you! Doesn't getting mail always make your day?
Have a sunny Sunday, dreamers!
Daria

The Beauty and The Beast

2011-09-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

These are my illustrations of "The Beauty and the Beast" for Illustration Rally competition.
Here is another drawing, it is unfinished, and the Smiths have a song about it.

The Snow Queen

2011-09-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

"The Snow Queen" entry for Illustration Rally

Canterville Ghost

2011-09-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome back! I'm sharing with you today an illustration for Oscar Wilde's 'Canterville Ghost'. It was my first choice to draw for Children's Book Rally at Illustration Rally, but I haven't submitted it yet as I don't have the second piece. Don't know about you, friends, but 'Canterville Ghost' is one my favourite stories! I remember watching the movie with John Gielgud, when i was about 7 and dreaming about a ghost friend like Sir Simon. Didn't find one, so named the spider in my bathroom after Sir Simon (I hoped then this could soften my heart towards spiders, but sadly, it did not).

Hmm. what else? The sale of my original artworks is still on (till Halloween!) and you can choose your wolf here.

Also, some colourful posts coming up!

xxx

Ferment zine/ Sale/ Collage

2011-09-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon dear sirs and madams!
Shall I update you on the latest happenings in a life of your humble servant?
I shall. The beginning of September came as a shock for me. Did I expect this month to come so soon after my lovely summer holidays? No! But my calender has an opinion of its own.
So my working days started and I have much less time for drawing, but (a paradox, but true) a lot more enthusiasm. I have deadlines, exciting collaborations and possibly other things waiting for me this autumn!
Not to bore you with words, may I just concentrate your attention on the drawing above, which is a collage made with Kaspian Shore's giraffe and my phoenix lady. They look good together, don't they?
The second illustration was made to accompany a poem by A.F. Harrold in Ferment zine
I received my copy today and absolutely fell in love! What a feast for lovers of literature and art! Also the cover was designed by fantastic Mr. Millerchip!

On a self-promoting note, I'd like to add, that I was happy to sell one of my wolves to a lovely customer in the US. There are 4 more wolfish gentlemen waiting for a shelter in my shop.
They are loving and caring creatures and they are available to buy only till October, 31st.
So use your chance if you fancy them!
Have an adventurous week and eat some fresh tomatoes and peppers!
Daria

Wolf drawings for Sale until October, 31st!

2011-09-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

Good evening ladies, gentlemen and their pets,
I hope you are enjoying your Saturday so far!
I have some news to share with you. Most of my readers are aware my fascination with wolves, these beautiful, noble creatures. They stroll through my drawings and often become the main characters. If you want one of them to guard your house, then email me whitestripesATrambler.ru , because
from today until October, 31st you or your friends or anyone else can buy one of my 5 original drawings featuring wolves. Why not get yourself a wolfish artwork for Halloween? They are kind and in need of a loving home! The drawings may contain other humans, fish, birds and some stars. Enjoy!
xxx
Daria

Lupine Osmunda

2011-08-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hello boys and girls,

How have you been? I'm glad you're here. I want to share these two drawings I did about

Kaspian Shore's dream on Lupine Osmunda. Check out Kaspian's art, he is absolutely great! and of course don't forget to send your dreams to me and Faye at Lupine Osmunda.

By the way, today I had a lovely dream about finding a cat, a rabbit and a mouse living in my room. What can this mean? Surely not that my cat hides two of her friends under the sofa...

Have a good week and don't forget to eat watermelons!

xxx

Lionheart Magazine

2011-08-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

If you like magazines, inspiration, lions, reading, art, craft, and good stories, you need a Lionheart Magazine in your life.
The leading lady behind the whole idea is Helen Martin a writer, whom I was lucky to "meet" thanks to Amelias Magazine providing illustrations for her articles.
I've been a fan of Helen's writing and I particularly enjoy the subjects she chooses to dwell upon. So I was extremely excited when I heard the news about Helen's upcoming magazine, Lionheart. It is still in the process of making and has a virtual form for now. But be sure (and you can see it now, if you follow the news) it's going to be a thing of beauty! I trust Helen on that. She's very passionate about it and so are all the others who are involved in this way or another.
You can read more about it here and here. You'll make Lionheart roar if you do :) rrrrooooooaaaarrr!!
On the left is one half of a drawing I did for Lionheart. There're also some other things, which will be revealed later..
See you in the wild!

xxx
Daria

Forest Food for All Tropical

2011-07-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

Happy summer afternoon,
Here's a quick peek at my T-shirt design for All Tropical
It's called Forest Food and is available to buy from all tropical online shop (there's a huge sale going on, so hurry up! The tee is very soft and nice! All Tropical have a great selection, check them out by all means! :)
I haven't had an opportunity to take a picture of me in it, so this is the best choice of setting I could come up with.
xxx
Daria

La Dolce Vita + dream

2011-07-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

Good day to you!
I'm back from my Roman trip, which was fantastic, inspiring, in short everything I needed and I want to go back again and eat some more gelato al limone! I bought some books in Italian, danced to the orchestra in Venice's Piazza San Marco, got dizzy from all the beauty around me and fell in love with Italy (very deeeeeply into the catacombs).
Are you having a good holiday/working week?
Here is a new dream, as seen by an extremely talented, skillful, imaginative (and possibly the world's friendliest) artist Ira Ti-igra
You can read the dream and see another one beautifully illustrated by my dear dream-colleague Faye West on Lupine Osmunda. We are looking forward to receiving your dreams!

Also, if you happen to understand Russian, you can read my interview for InSplash kindly organized by Ira

+ Several of my original collages have been sold recently, so I added some new collages into my shop . Let me know what you think and if you want to see other ones/more/or original drawings for sale. I'll be working on that. Any feedback is appreciated!
Have a lovely week everyone.
xxx
Daria

*****

2011-07-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

Evening!
These are some glimpses of the drawings I did for the secret (not really ;) collaboration between the amazing Roger O'Donnell and myself! I've been a fan of Roger's work for years now. I think the first time I 'met' him was on the TV screen in the Cure video... "Just like heaven" I think it was :) and I still enjoy everything he does, his solo work in particular. Roger's music is very inspiring for me so it was a great pleasure (and honour!!!) creating the drawings for him. What will happen next? You wait and see!
xxx
Daria

Obsessed with Vertigo

2011-06-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. I'm happy to welcome new followers to my blog, hope you are all enjoying your weekend!
So, a week ago or so I found out Benjamin Carr has an upcoming illustrated film fan club The 1917 Club. Could I remain passive and ignore this? No! So I took my pencils, some paper and started drawing away:
The movie is Hitchcock's Vertigo. I'll never get tired of repeating this: It's the best movie in (my) world.

Lupine Osmunda dream!

2011-06-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

Good evening,
It's midnight here and I chose to stay up late tonight as tomorrow is a day off! In the previous post I introduced you to Lupine Osmunda, an art blog where me and Faye West illustrate your dreams.
Gareth A Hopkins, who is also a fellow artist/illustrator is our first dream 'customer'. In fact, he ordered two dreams, one of them by Faye, and this one, by your humble servant :

PS. I also have 5 collages for sale here
Looking forward to hearing your dreams! Sleep tight
x
Daria

Lupine Osmunda

2011-06-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Good evening ladies and gentlemen of many countries and worlds,
Today is the first day in the life of Lupine Osmunda, a new dream art project by the amazing artist Faye West and myself. Dreams can be very inspiring, strange and beautiful. Very often we tend to forget them. We decided we should draw and paint them... your dreams! So if you are not afraid to share them with us, send your dreams to lupineosmunda@gmail.com and we'll make art.
Sounds like a good idea? Then have a glass of milk, some biscuits, go to bed and tomorrow, write us what you saw!
We'll illustrate dreams in turns - one by me, one by Faye and , if you want, you can even purchase your very own original dream illustration.
Here is what we did (you can read the dream descriptions here)

my drawings of Faye's dream:

Faye's artwork of my dream:

I love Faye's interpretation so much, makes me come back to that beautiful vision I saw every time I look at this piece. Also, I look a bit like Marcello Mastroianni in La Dolce Vita. Which is great, isn't it?

Come on, share some dreams with us!
xxx
Daria

Hitchcock

2011-05-29T02:01:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!
Today I'm feeling way better (hope you too are enjoying your weekend, lovelies!) and ready to share some quick drawings I did for fun in between of doing everything else. I hope the master of suspense is recognisable. My favourite director, one of the few famous people, whose work I admire, the great, the terrifying and the immortal Alfred Hitchcock! What else can I say? I've been a fan since childhood (the first movie for me was Rear Window) and still now I watch and re-watch, always surprised even though i know most of his movies by heart. I think he managed to combine humour, intelligence, style, naivety, tension, well, everything that usually entertains the spectator, all in one. My all-time favourite film of his is Vertigo, I honestly think it's the best movie ever made. I included the video of one of my favourite episodes, Scottie's nightmare. I hope you have only good dreams tonight.
xxx
Daria

Audrey Grace Boutique

2011-05-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

Good evening,

I had a rather difficult day, so I thought I'd do a post for a change to keep you, my dear readers, and myself, your humble servant, entertained. I have had a great pleasure to create work (both collages and drawings) for Audrey Grace Boutique which will open this November in Jackson, Mississippi and which is run by the very stylish Jaclyn Bethany. Visit the shop's facebook page to keep an eye for updates.
As you can guess from the boutique's title, it's largely inspired by the two style icons and talented actresses Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, but not limited to that. Here are two drawings of Audrey and Grace with her daughter. Hope you like them!
Good night
x
Daria

Obolochka - our limited edition illustrated tops and tees!

2011-05-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Finally I can share the exciting and 'wearable' news with you! Okay, first click here >>> OBOLOCHKA

This is something that my good friend Julie got an idea for and I was all for it! We wanted unusual tops with illustrations. The three designs are all made by me and printed and produced by Julie. Everything's made in Ukraine and goes without saying.. with love! :) I hope very much that you like them!

It's our first collection (we hope there'll be more, depends on the feedback of course, and we've already had some orders! :)
It was inspired by space, nature, home, comfort, music, simplicity, freedom and many other things.
There are 30 pieces in total, so you can consider it to be limited edition. We have only started this, that's why Julie and I are looking into possibilities of selling them not only in Ukraine, but all over the world, which I'm sure can be arranged.

So if you feel that you'd love to buy one for yourself or for a friend, leave some feedback or comment :) You can also contact us at this email for more information! > obolochka.ua@gmail.com We'd love that!

Oh yes, and the name Obolochka comes from Russian "shell". We think of clothes as means of self-expression but also a kind of protection. Not only from rain or sun or snow, but from anything negative or frustrating. It sure will keep you happy in any weather or mood :)
xxx
Daria

Giveaway results!

2011-05-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies!
Today was a very important day. Under strict supervision of this giraffe I have chosen the winner of my giveaway! It's #14 a comment by the wonderful Genie Espinosa!
The event has been documented:

Thank you so much, everyone who left a comment and re-tweeted, and of course thanks for your suggestions! It gave me food for thought! There were some great ideas, so i 'll be sure to keep them in mind! Hope you have a lovely day!
x
Daria

Ballad Of

2011-05-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Good day to you!

Are you having a good Sunday? I hope so. Eat some ice-cream, have some lemonade, talk to your cat!
Today i want to share with you the drawings I did in winter for Ballad Of magazine and last week was told that some of them have been featured in this printed treasury! I love Ballad of and can't wait to get my copy. I know some of my artist friends are also in there, so congratulations to them xxx
Hope you enjoy this colourful break from black and white drawings
Oh, wait!! don't go yet, there's giveaway, which ends Wednesday, hope you enter :) good luck!

L'Avventura

2011-05-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!
Here's my take on Antonioni's L'Avventura, which I loved! I'm watching lots and lots and lots of Italian movies and if you have a particular favourite must-see, please tell me!

Good news include my feature on Sketchbook mag blog! Many thanks to Sketchbook mag! And very soon I'm going to reveal the 'project' I've been working on with my friend. A hint: you can wear it!

Also, I'm having a giveaway , so click and see!

have a lovely week

xxx

Daria

***

2011-05-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Giveaway 200!

2011-05-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

Greetings,
As promised, here is my little giveaway to thank you for your interest in what I do.
Okay, I have to write the rules, right?
1. I think it's fair that the winner should be my reader, so if you aren't, you can correct this injustice by following this blog :) and also follow my art updates on twitter

2. To choose one winner I'd love you to leave a comment on this post!

3. In your comment, please tell me what you'd like me to draw next! A famous person drinking tea? A ruined city? A horse eating a cake?.. anything!

4. I'll choose the winner randomly on the 25th of May with the help of my top hat, cat assistant and extraordinary magic skills.

I'd be especially thankful for those who blog about it or retweet. Hope you like the 'prize' : the Cabal-dog hand-made card and an original drawing of a boy dreaming ;)
have a lovely weekend!
xxx
Daria

Accidental Horror : Suspiria

2011-05-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Evening!
This week I wasn't careful enough and followed the recommendation to watch Dario Argento's "Suspiria". I had no idea it was a horror movie. I don't watch horror movies. Surreal, suspense, noir, but not horror. Suspiria started off beautifully and in mere 6 minutes became bloody : I watched it with one eye to be honest. The scene in the beginning involves one of my worst fears: eyes in the window. I couldn't get rid of this image so I had to draw it. Hope you enjoy.

Also, thank you so much for following my blog and to celebrate the big 200 + readers I'll be doing a giveaway very soon!
Have a fab weekend!
x
Daria

Amelias Magazine/Fellini

2011-05-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

Morning!
This is the latest illustration I did for Amelia's Magazine article by Hannah Bullivant about Oak fine fairtrade jewellers.

I have also been having a Fellini week, which resulted in this drawing (only a part of it fit in my scanner) and excessive humming to myself the melodies by Nino Rota. I quite enjoy the side effects.

Six Word Story / The Beauty Regime / Creature Mag

2011-05-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Good day to you sirs and ladies,
First, I'd like to share with you a quick naive drawing I did for The Beauty Regime. Just to remind you, this is a place dedicated to music (of The Divine Comedy) and art, run by me and my two chums Mark and Karina, and we are looking for submissions as well! May's topic is The Beauty regime, so if you are a creative type, we'd be delighted to see what you come up with and feature it on our wonderblog ;D!

I was also happy to come across Six Word Story Every Day on twitter, a project based in Minneapolis (which is a good sign for me, oh i miss the place sometimes! a year spent in the Land of a Ten Thousand Lakes is no joke! ;) It is a unique project by the very talented Anne Ulku and Van Horgen . It was inspired by the 6-word work Ernest Hemingway regarded as his greatest: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
You'll find a new story + a design every day of the year!
I chose "I'm sorry. I sold your fantasies" story by Ben Dobson. It reminded me of a Truman Capote's Master Misery. If you haven't, do read it!

To add a bit of colour to my as of lately black and white posts, here are two croquet-themed drawings I did for the competition announced by Creature Mag & Croquet East!
and another thing of utmost importance: have a great week!
xxx
Daria

dinner at nine

2011-05-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Falling

2011-04-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I found out about Paraxis, a new online publisher of uncanny, fantastic and unnerving tales.Claire Massey, (who is the editor as well as Andy Hedgecock) with whom I was lucky enough to collaborate on New Fairy Tales offered me to illustrate one of the stories and I was delighted as I love interpreting literature.
So the tale I illustrated is called "Falling" by Sarah Nicholson, a surreal story about falling 'into' love. The new volume is full of other fab stories and illustrations, so don't miss out on them, get your cup of tea and some biscuits and read!
xxx
Daria

wedding mask

2011-04-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Everyone's talking about the wedding. Here's what I have to say:

The mouth of the ocean

2011-04-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

This is the drawing I finished at work today. I got an idea for it from a Faith No More song, with lyrics
"Smilin with the mouth of the ocean
And I'll wave to you with the arms of the mountain" sounds nice, doesn't it?
So this is "The mouth of the ocean"
I've found an abundant source for inspiration, a glodmine. very happy. and sneezing a lot.
xxx
Daria

haunt haunt haunt

2011-04-25T03:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings from my room
I've been stuck here for quite a while as I'm having some days off and spending them drawing. To get the general idea of what I'm up to I'm sharing these three pieces with you + videos which inspired all of the above nonsense. I never listen to Portishead, but this video is genius, i love everything about it. Faith no more is out of question, i am hooked haha. help me!
hope your week is good
x
Daria

Sir Ian

2011-04-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

Good morning!
Here is a drawing I did of Sir Ian Mckellen.Have a fab Sunday!
xxx

2011-04-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

Evening dear ones,
How have you been? Not under the weather I hope. It's been raining, snowing and wind-ing and not sunn-ing at all-ing...
Here are some news to share with you. Firstly, meet me by Jenny Robins an amazing artist/illustrator, who's started Facebook portrait project for which Jenny illustrates all her friends, which is a great idea, I think! You should absolutely check Jenny's work, which is so full of imagination and colour and skill!
Incidentally, I'm trying to make myself at home on Facebook, so you're welcome to visit! :)

This week I was just about to resume my sulking again when I learned my T-shirt design won the All Tropical competition. This really made me happy. It's my first ever T-shirt, which I called "Forest Food", now it will be available to buy online and also in one of the London shops.. I'd love to buy one myself :)

2011-04-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Good night!
Inspired by Heidi's sweet post about favourite books from childhood I decided to make my own. Here are some of the books and pictures I grew up with.
This is my beloved ABC (my facsimile copy of the first 1904 edition) illustrated by Alexandre Benois, the Russian artist and also a relative of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov (I didn't know that as a child, but I did love Ustinov as Poirot!). I used to spend hours staring at the illustrations, looking for the smallest things and imagining myself inside them. This is one great piece of art!
The letters shown here are G and D

This is a very old copy of the Russian version of "The Wizard of Oz" which is called "The wizard of the Emerald City", I love it dearly! Another one is a hardback copy of Peter Pan, which i adored of course.

Among others, I had several books illustrated by my mother's uncle Vladimir Beskaravayniy , who was an artist and illustrator in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, he died before I was born, and I find it a very curious coincidence that one of the books I have by him is called "Dashutka", which is my name :)

One of my favourite stories was "Johnny Bear" by Ernest Seton Thompson, I can't express all the sadness I felt in the end of the story, it was a bit too much for me at that age and I think his stories taught me to really care about the animals. Also, here's "The Story of Sarlie the Barrier Reef Turtle" by Leslie Rees, I don't know if you've heard about this book, there's another one about the emu :) My dream has always been to go to Australia and local fauna is one of the reasons.

Mother Goose rhymes translated in Russian by Marshak and illustrated by Konashevich is still one of my all-time favourite books. I knew all the rhymes by heart and couldn't go to bed without looking at it (so that I'd have nice dreams afterwards) Don't you love it?

This is the American version of Mother Goose with amazing art by Nicola Bayley, sent to me by our American pen-friend with whom we sadly lost touch now.She used to send me lots of great books. Counting the cats in this picture was the best pastime.

This is Cinderella with fab illustrations. No, I didn't like the story, just the pictures.

and the last one is "Bee, the princess of dwarfs" by Anatole France. I had a very difficult relationship with this one. It's such a great story, but the illustrations didn't encourage me to read it, they seemed too simple at first. Only after I did read it, I understood that they reflect the story better than any other fancy art. They just left so much space for imagination.

I hope you enjoyed this inspiration post and perhaps you shared the love for some of the books mentioned!Let me know!
xxx
Daria

moon wedding

2011-04-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

2011-04-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

Evening!
Here is:
"Natasha is looking for Natasha"

Also, there are 4 days left to vote on my T-shirt design for All Tropical. If you like it, I'd be very happy if you voted, left a comment or "like" it on Facebook
Thanks!
Daria

2011-04-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Evening dear ones!
Here, the first day of April is nice, warm and a little windy. I'm 'celebrating' my name day (which is silly, i know) with a piece of cake. I never do it, but I had a rather weird birthday party this year. Why not have another one. still weirder. Anyway, I have a favour to ask (I seldom do!) I entered All Tropical T-shirt design contest, it ends next Friday. I'll be grateful and drink tea to your health if you vote or leave a comment
(only if you like it of course!) or "like" it on Facebook and comment or re-tweet - everything counts!
hugs and xxx
Daria

a day in the life of nick cave

2011-03-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

It's me again. Today after work I just had a weird idea for a drawing which came out of nowhere, and here it is. I've been drawing non-stop this evening, very tiring, no one asked. anyway, here it is.

xxx

Daria

I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. I'm such a whiner

3

2011-03-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Good day to you,
So i have some questions to answer here, as I've been tagged by Heidi, who is a very talented illustrator (I love her whimsical characters, check out what she does!)
I'll try to concentrate and answer these:

Three names I go by: Dasha, Daria, and Meow (by my cat)

Three places I’ve lived in: Ukraine most of the time, Russia (several summers) the USA (one careless year)

Three places I’ve worked: my room, my kitchen, my balcony. I usually draw there.
I've had (and still have) several jobs connected with languages/interpreting, but my favourite one so far was working for an American children's author Mary Casanova, who is a great writer and also my dear friend.

Three things I love to watch: a good play, the moon, neighbours sometimes.. haha, only joking! i love to watch animals

Three places I’ve been and loved: Hampstead Heath/Old Vic theatre in London, Berlin (I get strangely exhilarated there, this includes tree-hugging and excessive grinning, don't ask me why, i've no idea) and ... Philadelphia, a strange, strange place for me evoking memories of Eraserhead movie, Edgar A.Poe and lots of good food.
Three people who email me regularly: my three friends.

Three things I love to eat: rice, salmon, but i don't have it very often :( and cheesecakes

Three things I’m looking forward to: weekend, holiday, next trip... anywhere in this world.

The three people I’m tagging in this meme are @ergyergcaroline @westfaye @neonflower_

2011-03-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

I don't remember if I shared this with you.

The Beauty Regime and other news

2011-03-29T05:31:00.000-07:00

Good day to you,
It is time I shared some news and also thank you for looking, reading and following. I hope I don't disappoint.
So the first thing is the art blog The Beauty Regime which was an idea of Mark, Karina and me. It is dedicated to The Divine Comedy, the band we three share the love for and it's also open for submissions. I've been listening to The DC since.. oh well.. since I was at school and I still think Neil Hannon is great, very true to himself, his style and music. The illustrations that will be featured on our blog will be connected with music/lyrics/albums/anything else you can think of! So it'll be great if you paid a visit there or submitted your own piece of art!
Actually after starting The Beauty Regime I seriously thought about making another music/cinema/art blog, there's so much inspiration out there, and I cannot stop on one band anyway! Ideas are welcome : )

Another drawing I wanted to share with you is the one I did for a project by Amardip Bhopari and Catherine Palairet. It's called "I'm the king of the world" Hope you recognize the movie

And the last thing is Papergirl Glasgow exhibition. I couldn't but send some of my drawings. The idea of the whole project is very appealing to me. I give away a lot of art to people, is it wrong? I also love Glasgow, I should say I love Scotland and I was happy to see some of my drawings on show here.

I really need to get out of the city for a while but my art is travelling, which is a great comfort as well!

Nick Cave

2011-03-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

Good evening
Listening to Nick Cave non-stop can ruin plans. Can't find strength in me to turn the music off. Here are two drawings made today instead of what I should have drawn. I'm having problems with deciding upon my priorities. Hope you are better at disciplining yourself..

Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

Two drawings I did for the tribute article by Matt Bramford in Amelia's magazine, you can see it here along with more illustrations by excellent artists.

xxx

Daria

On a day like this

2011-03-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

It can't be all perfect, can it? At last the long-anticipated week off when I'm only working part-time has come.At last I have some time which i can actually spend as I like. And I am sulking. Expectations run low in this house. Motivation's gone. Plans are veiled. Perhaps I just have to stop listening to Nick Cave. He's putting some wrong ideas into my head. As you can see I've developed a habit of posting from youtube, tell me when you are tired. I hope the sun's shining bright and people are nice to you. I'll eat an apple.
Daria

2011-03-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

Good evening dear ones!
This Friday starts my week- long holiday from my regular job and I'll have more time for myself and drawing/cleaning/eating/sleeping/going out/you get the general idea. Are you having any kind of holidays? I'm sitting here surrounded by lovely tulip bouquets and trying to think straight, oh well - could never do that!
You might have noticed I've become passionate about portraits lately. Not my fault, blame it on the wonderful Illustration Rally , where you can find portrait rallies to which I'm so partial. So I couldn't help drawing David Bowie and Kate Bush for British music week.
Also, couldn't but mention that the founder of the blog is Natsuki Otani, a talented Japanese/British artist who's taking a very active part in helping and supporting Japan right now, so visit the Illustration Rally to find details on how you can help!
I was also asked by a very unique Ukrainian-American duo Heinali and Matt Finney to draw a sketch of them. Really enjoyed it, I don't think it turned out as haunting as their music, so maybe I'll do more drawings, who knows! But I guess it still represents their poetic nature. There is a track by them, that I particularly enjoy, you can see that their music would be a perfect soundtrack for a Lynch movie! Also, enjoy my favourite songs my Kate Bush and Mr. Bowie

Sunday

2011-03-13T03:45:00.000-07:00

It's been such a week, so many things happened in the world and in my world as well. I hope everyone is staying safe, warm and hopeful. The Lynch week, which I enjoyed so much is coming to an end, here's the smiling director with a cup of coffee on Sunday for you. It's been quite exciting having a topic for this week (any suggestions?), I'd love to do it again! Thanks, Illustration Rally for inspiration! Check out other excellent portraits by amazing artists on there!
I don't know if I can be that active next week, as I really need to sit down and draw for two projects.. And I have completely forgotten about my collages, so I'll have to update my collage blog as well. Have a great Sunday and wear green next week!

2011-03-11T23:42:00.000-08:00

2011-03-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday to you,
As you can see David Lynch week continues. And I am sitting now surrounded with heaps of paper and pencils and deciding what to start with first. Logically, that would be the project, whose deadline is nearest. But as I have almost nothing to do with logic, I'll start with what feels right. I'm quite excited about all the big and little things going on, but I do get this feeling very often that I want it all now and waiting makes me weary.
I sorted out my pencils and put them in the boxes from chocolates. For some reason i thought this fact was worth mentioning. I'm very proud of myself! Hope you are, too, proud of yourself.
xxx
Daria

2011-03-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

Hello dear ones! How have you been? At last I can feel a hint of spring in the air and I think I'm having a regeneration week after long winter. It's icy and the snow is still lying around (very carelessly), occasionally falling from roofs.
i'm so tired of scarves and hats and gloves.
We've been having problems with electricity lately. (I sometimes feel I live in the North Pole) So I cannot really plan anything and have been reduced to spending most evenings watching candles burn. Perhaps, it's a new kind of meditation, propagandized by our government.
Anyway, I'll leave you with another David Lynch, featured on Illustration Rally And in three days the Lynch week will be over. Apologies if I bored you with that, but I had no idea I'd enjoy drawing him so much, he's got a very interesting face..., personality and imagery surrounding him, obviously. So If you have any other suggestions of whom I should draw next, please let me know! Incidentally, next fortnight Illustration Rally's topics are Sci-FI and British music portraits! Any ideas? And of course, don't forget to take part yourself and draw something for this great blog!
Hope you are having a fantastic week so far, dears!
xxx
Daria

2011-03-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

I'm announcing a Lynch week

David Lynch

2011-03-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

Illustration Rally, an art blog which has so many amazing topics to illustrate, is hosting a portrayal week of dream dinner guests. My choice is David Lynch. I can't explain my feelings for this man's work, it's all too complicated. First I came across his name when I was...well...7 -8. Not the best age to get acquainted with David Lynch, I know. My parents used to watch Twin Peaks and they only let me watch the title sequence along with the beautiful music by Angelo Badalamenti and then i was off to bed every night and could only make wild guesses what this tv series was about. Later, I studied American cinema at the college and during that time watched most of Lynch's movies. He is one director whose films I will only watch once. I just think of his movies as a phenomenon, not something that you can rent and re-watch, or record, pause, you know. It's just once in a life time experience. I can only imagine what the dinner will be like with David Lynch. I'm sure I won't say a word and be so overwhelmed with his fabulous crazy hair that I'll forget I'm a vegetarian and start eating meat feverishly. Or remain calm and sing Blue Velvet. haha ;) Hope you have a great week!
I'll post another drawing later in the week.
xxx
Daria

Blue

2011-03-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

Hello dear ones! How are you keeping? It's still snowing here. I'm having four days off my regular work, so I'm catching up with things. My online shop and other news have been postponed, sadly. All I have for sale right now are originals only and I haven't figured out what's the best payment method/a good place to make prints (a problem in Ukraine). Anyway, that's not the main point, is it? : ) For now I want to share with you some updates virtually. Illustration Rally run by the wonderful Natsuki Otani , whose work you should absolutely see, it's colourful, alive, imaginative, she's a very skillful artist! So yes, Illustration Rally is having a rally of Rainbow colours and I chose blue, which is my favourite, soothing, beautiful, deep colour with lots of marvellous shades and amazing things associated with it. Blue is so full of magic but also sadness, comfort and understanding. Here's my take on it.

You know what.. I'll leave you with some blue songs by Miles Davis, Roger O'Donnell and Tracey Thorn. Perhaps they clash a little with my illustrations, but they were definitely an inspiration

xxx

Daria

2011-02-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing and snowing for days. I can't say how much I miss spring and holidays. I want a holiday, far away from here. Will anyone be kind enough to invite me even for a day? Need to get away, honestly!
Today I had a beautiful nightmare, if any such thing exists. It was very surreal and detailed, but not in action. I was just slowly coming back home from the edge of our city and lots of things kept happening around me.
On the art front, I haven't been very active either. Although previously I was lucky to draw an illustration for Helen Martin's interview with a beautiful singer Nancy Elizabeth in Amelia's Magazine. I only regret I hadn't time for another drawing, as Nancy's music is very inspiring and I think it shows in her photos and album artwork as well as in videos and music.

I hope you like it and hope you keep warm!
take care
xxx
Daria

Creature mag poetry collaboration/Amelia's mag

2011-02-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks for your comments on the previous wolf/girl drawing ;) I thought I should go back to wolf theme and explore more! Now recently I've been delighted to create a piece for poetry collaboration organized by Creature Mag. All the poems were written by Ben Macnair and I produced a drawing for the one called "Snowman". I've never before done an illustration for poetry and I found it very inspiring!

Also, here's another drawing I did for the ever-writing, talented and wonderful Helen Martin in Amelia's Magazine. These guys are Grizzly Bear!

Hope you all are having a wonderful and productive week! I'm stuck at home with a flu, but I sure promise to keep you updated with more art! Toodle-oo! I'm off to the kitchen to have a cuppa sweet tea!

2011-02-14T01:05:00.000-08:00

This is the drawing I did for Ballad of magazine last year. Don't forget to write! Hope you like it!

Happy Valentine's Day

xxx

Daria

2011-02-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

Here's another drawing I did for an article by Hannah Bullivant in Amelia's Magazine
Also, I sorted out my drawings this week and look what a nice pile of drawings for Amelia's Magazine I have ;)

I'm also working on some starry sky drawings that I can't wait to share, but they take a long time to complete, so I have to be patient!

xxx
Daria

God's Little Eskimo

2011-01-29T00:19:00.000-08:00

Hello! While I'm having a spare minute here, thought I'd share with you two drawings I made for the interview with God's Little Eskimo by Helen Martin in Amelia's Magazine . Which one you like best?

2011-01-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hi again!
Avril , the creator of wonderful illustrations and of Whimsically Random blog was kind to call me a stylish blogger - wow! Now i have some things to do to justify it! : )

For this award, the guidelines are:

Link back to the person who awarded you
Share 7 things about yourself
Link it forward to 15 recently discovered bloggers
Contact those people about the award

I'll try to make it 7 random facts illustrated! :)

I adore Shakespeare. I know he's boring and all that, I agree - too much is a dangerous thing, but he is great and watching his plays (more than reading) is a pure treat for me.

I want to have a dog, but I'm afraid that my small flat will not be a good home for it.

I love cheesecakes and cupcakes, but we can get neither where I live. So I'm learning to cook, bake etc. which is not much fun.

I've always wanted to be a ballerina (not only.. that's a long story :) + I love "Nights at the circus" by Angela Carter

My favourite movie is 39 steps by Hitchcock but I always forget this fact. not fair!

There's nothing better than an evening at the theatre

I believe in magic!or at least pretend that I do. which is the same, isn't it?

So the blogs that I love and recently discovered are :

Seventy Tree

My Mini Tree House

James Grover Illustration

Blingery

Lottie Loves

The Scarlet Illustrator

Hivennn

Tiffany's Writing Compendium

xxx

Daria

Monday news

2011-01-24T05:42:00.000-08:00

Time has come for another installment of news, thoughts and images.
You know it's so hard to get into the working days after a good long Xmas holiday. In fact i still have a Christmas tree in the room as our last holiday was on the 19th. Oh, and because I don't have time to put it away.
So. The wonderful and very kind Gerlin from Neon Enlightenment , a place for culture, art, music and fashion, has asked me some questions the answers to which you can read here ! Be sure to follow this blog as it is packed with excellent music and style! Unmissable : ) Thanks, Gerlin!
Also Emma and Maria from Carpaccio Magazine were kind enough to blog about my drawings, which was a Christmas gift actually. You can see how awfully "quick" our post service is! Also, another great magazine to enjoy! Every issue is a treasure!

And I've had the loveliest commision in the world, which was a great pleasure to draw! and I will hopefully share it with you a bit later! Just sent it off
Take care

xxx
Daria

Songs from the Silver Box Roger O'Donnell

2011-01-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

I've been listening to Roger O'Donnell's "Songs From the Silver Box", which is otherworldly beautiful and takes you to quite another dimension and thought I'd share with you what I came up with (sorry for bad photos!)! I don't know whether I want to add something else to these drawings but I'll certainly do more!

xxx

Daria

letters and treats

2011-01-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got two lovely things in the post. Lovely? mmm.. How about Fantastic!
One package was from my friend and a great artist from Norway Randi Antonsen also known as Clara vox. I met Randi on bluecanvas and fell in love with her bold and free art. You should really look at her site or follow her blog or tumblr or both :)

This beautiful painting is framed and is waiting to be hung on my wall. This photo doesn't do justice to it all, but I really love the colours - also the seal or even two is a really nice symbol for me, for it is my animal according to Celtic birth signs (besides I simply adore them!)

Also was very happy to get this lovely

CraftGuerrilla zine with my "Brian and Brian" piece and a beautiful cover by Abby Wright Her portraits are always so tender and beautiful!

Also...

2011-01-11T06:55:00.000-08:00

The working week has begun for me after sweet and sleepy Christmas holiday. Now battling through the hard days and finding time for illustrating and making art I'm all ready to share some recent news with you :D
firstly, THANK you my readers - it's great to have 101 lovely followers, such an impressive number! So thankssss!
I've also found some time to produce a drawing (it was fun to make!) for a great story by Amelia Gregory in

Amelia's Magazine

Read it! It's about Ratcliffe power station protest as told by Amelia herself, who was the witness to all of this. Gripping! Also another drawing was made very quickly (I'm getting used to it, although I love to have more time for drawing) of The Golden Filter band for the top 10 albums of 2010 here .

Also, I've been a part of i heart ... my favourite places zine which is a lovely publication and will be available very soon, so check the site ! My favourite place which is featured is Old Vic theatre in London where I spend some lovely moments of my life (I adore theatre for those who don't know) and recently enjoyed Coward's Design for Living (fantastic!)
Also! You can have a glimpse of my portfolio on Wall Collective (you can see a cute icon on the right) which is a great place to show you art and it's very easy to use. It's a new network, so if you're interested, take a look or follow wall collective on twitter!
Also, the lovely ladies from Ballad of got my handmade cards and have a pic to prove it :) how lovely! Our post service is so slow that I was really glad they got it. And don't forget to get your hands on the latest issue of Ballad of, which you can buy online OR in so many great places in the UK like Harrods and Tate Modern :D
And also I know some of you have been wondering about any prints or cards of mine. Thank you so much for your interest and I'm working on it - i hope i'll be selling online very soon, so stick around : )
Well, I may as well have missed out on something but I'll spare you: no more 'also's for today! Hope you have a great week and take care!

xxx
Daria

PS there will be more!

The Forest

2011-01-09T02:48:00.000-08:00

My Christmas holiday is coming to an end and I must get ready for a working day tomorrow.

On the positive side, I had some time to finish up my drawings, here are some of them, the rest I'll share with you later! Seems like I've got some new lovely followers over the weeks and i'm happy to welcome you here! Hope you won't get bored too quickly, stick around, there's more coming soon!

These are not very good scans, sorry, but i think you can see the whole picture ;) I also have a black and white one and would really love to hear your thought - which is better. Looking forward to your comments!

xxx

Daria

PS Have a great week!!

2010-12-31T13:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Hope it's filled with only good moments and caring people... or animals :)

xxx
Daria

Happy New Year!

2010-12-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

One day till New Year's Eve and I'm all ready for it! If there was one word I'd describe this year with - it's BUSY. I've been working all year and summer too and only had one week off for my pleasure (almost!) in autumn. But I'm very thankful for that! Working towards deadlines and doing completely different things at the same time, and making right decisions has been really rewarding. I've learned a lot from different people this year, which made me change my attitude towards some of my principles and priorities. which is also good. and I'm anticipating the beginning of New Year!
One thing is certain, if I had known of the things that I'd experience this year, I wouldn't have believed half of them! small things for some - but an accomplishment for me. I'm so thankful to my illustrator and artists friends who support me and it's a joy to keep in touch and marvel at their work.
Also, my readers, THANK YOU!!! I promise to keep you entertained with my work next year :)
Shall I make a list of highlights then or what? :D
1.Kate Bush also Hans Zimmer, Clint Mansell and Roger O'Donnell and Temper Trap. yes.
2. Keats' House revisited (i love the place and hope to return there again and again!)
3. Stella Vine
4. Twitter (this was a tough decision haha, but i think i'm coping alright)
5. cooking
6. meeting friends
7. Turkish delight (this is so rare in my life!)
8. Gormenghast
9. my work in Amelia's magazine
10. Nettie's Tale in New Fairy tales
11. my cat (always a highlight and a delight, too!)
12. local art exhibition
13. not frequent visits to the theatre
14. Ballad of
15. strange and wonderful coincidences which are
better left unsaid or it might break the magic!

I've also got a new ambition, or rather a pipe-dream to work for a SPCA, that is to work for animals but we don't have anything like that here, which is a shame. I've been trying to reach out to local authorities, but it has been a failure so far and I'm at a loss. it's a very sad situation. Hopefully it will improve somehow, there are a lot of animals that need help where I live and sadly, they are not treated well, even by their owners. Oh well..
this is long!! :) I hope you have great time celebrating NY! hugs! Take care
yours truly
Daria!

oh and my New Year resolution : draw more, worry less.What's yours?

I hope you leave all your worries behind in the old year as i did with my old shoes that really hurt!!! now they reside on a tree in Hampstead heath with a much better view to admire! At least I 've got new shiny shoes! yeeey!
Toodle-oo!

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

I'm so grateful to my readers for their inspiring comments and support and I hope you'll stay tuned for more (and there'll be more, news coming up soon!)I wish you all the best in the new year! I filled up this post with some colourful illos I made for Amelia's Magazine So stay warm, drink tea, count your pencils and have fun this Christmas ;D

Merry Christmas

2010-12-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

This

This is an illustration I made for the amazing Amelia's Magazine written by the wonderful Helen Martin. It's about Christmas songs and I chose Jingle Bells Rock by Bobby Helms.

It all started with Home Alone movie, where Kevin gets lost in NYC. This song was featured in the movie and I remembered it so well. I think since then I've been thinking how wonderful it'd be to be lost in NY at Christmas. And some years later I was. not lost, but alone and spending my Christmas holidays, with this song playing in many shops, Macy's included (oh the shop windows!! never ever i have seen as much beauty as in NY) and there was that moment when I realised that my dream actually came true. Cheeky and melodramatic.. i know ;D. But it felt so good. This song always feels like Christmas in New York and it was one of the best. Now i'm off to decorate some fir-trees, they are asking for it, they are :D Cheers and happy holidays! Stay warm! Hugs all around!

Le voyage dans la lune

2010-12-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

How are you coping before Christmas? Isn't it the craziest time of the year? the loveliest, too. But so many things need to be done and there is this made-up 'before-Christmas-limit'. Maybe I just need to relax and go with a flow? Tired of work and serious attitude, want a bit of fairy tale spirit around!

That's why today's drawing is inspired by "Le Voyage dans la lune" by George Melies. If you haven't seen this 1902 short film, you absolutely should - it's a storage of wonderful imagination! You may have seen the re-made version of this masterpiece by Smashing Pumpkins in "Tonight Tonight" video, which is also great. Here is my version, a small part of it. Let me know what you make of it :)

Amelia's Magazine

2010-12-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Good evening to you!
Been listening to a lot of Kate Bush lately and trying to finish my little projects before Christmas. I don't think I'll manage though because every now and then I feel tempted to illustrate some bit for the wonderful and ever flourishing Amelia's Magazine (by Amelia Gregory whose book on fashion is out now, Click here to see!)
which is a dwelling place to all things exclusive and beautiful!
I should say that deadlines come as quick as a lightning, but it's a challenge i must take. So I learned to have my pencils ready. It takes time of course, given that I come home late after work, but i enjoy it immensely! I hope there's more and more beauty to illustrate and articles to read.
You are welcome to take a look at the Pet Portraits article and the latest one about Christmas crafts ;D Hope you enjoy the site, the magazine, articles, art and books... everything ! Cheers! and keep warm

Landscapes

2010-12-10T08:21:00.000-08:00

What a whirlwind of a week! Time to relax and finish some fantasy landscape drawings I've been doing. These are two of them, the lower one was specifically done for Blanket magazine
calendar contest for December month. It hasn't been included in calendar but it'll feature in the magazine anyway.
And now... Kate Bush, lapsang souchong, pancakes with honey and Christmas lights on!
Hope you have a great weekend everyone! Hugs x

Tabby's portraits

2010-12-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

This is Tabby. I was asked to make a portrait of him, and came up with this. Next comes framing and it's readyto be sent! I hope you like it! Please see the previous post for more details on animals' portraits.

Pets

2010-12-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

PET PORTRAITS

I've been always interested in drawing animals. And recently I've had several requests to make pet portraits. So in this Christmas spirit, for those you who are interested I can make a drawing of your pet. The only things I need are: to have the photo, the name and some information about the little furry!

If you have any questions, please contact me via email. Thank you!

Tuesday news

2010-12-06T23:17:00.000-08:00

Morning everyone! I have a week off which is great so I'm using it to be productive and blog more :) Here are some news:

My works have been featured in a lovely Rojo and Garabato magazine in a special section which marks the 10th issue

Also I'm on lookbook on Creative Boom site, which is a tresury of great art and I can spend hours there! Great job you are doing! Thank you

And I've recently registered on Society 6 so if you are there let me know!
Have a great day

PS do you think this last drawing needs colouring?

New Fairy Tales

2010-11-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

Good evening dear ones!
Happy St Andrew's day to those who are celebrating! I am! Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever been too, and the rumour has it (according to my grandfather) that my very distant ancestors come from this country. Although my grandfather used to be such a joker :)

Anyway, I want to share something special with you that I'm SO proud of! It's like a dream come true. I've always wanted to illustrate fairy-tales. I think you'll agree that most of my work looks a bit (a lot actually! who am i kidding?) fairy-talish. A while ago I came across NEW FAIRY TALES, which is an online magazine made up of tales and illustrations edited by the wonderful
Claire Massey and Faye Durston
"Nettie's Tale" is a beautiful story I illustrated, you are welcome to read it and view my drawings here
but first, here's a sweet little spoiler :) a trailer for the Issue 6 of the magazine! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Friday, I'm at the post office

2010-11-26T03:57:00.000-08:00

This has been quite a week! Lots of errands, deadlines at work, lots of post (great!!!), drawing, and a lot of figuring out what to do next. I've been waiting for Friday to sort it all out beautifuuly in this post.

One thing that always makes me happy is getting mail. Although all parcels and letters always come at once - not fair, too much happiness for one day.
I received a magazine of extreme beauty and unforgettably gorgeous style (can i say that?? ahaha) Ballad of is a wonder of a magazine created by extremely talented people with great taste and love, I'm still looking through it and finding exciting bits and getting lots of inspiration from that one collection of fantastic photos, art and writing! I've also been sent this lovely bag with my drawing on it, which was made for a launch party (unfortunately I couldn't make it there at that time, but everyone had a great time!)

the magic Ballad of bag along with my guilty pleasure books :)

Next I got this tiny beautiful Spoonful zine
which travelled all the way from Australia (the country i see in my dreams :) and a little personalized note, which was so thoughtful! It's a little treasure!

Today I had to go to the post office again to get my Alice magazine
which is a collection of all things fashionable, vintage, arty and creative. It looks more like a little book rather than a magazine and i absolutely love it! So thank you lovely people for making my days brighter and i hope you enjoy my work as well as I enjoy YOUR work and attention!

Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to write to each other!

Daisy-ed and Confused

2010-11-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

As I feature a lot of animals in my drawings, I thought I'd tell you about my little furry friend, named Daisy. She's a very educated cat, talkative at times, but otherwise likes nothing better than a good book (which is proved by the photos!!) She's 7 and she is a very imaginative animal, because she spends a lot of time inventing games and playing with imaginary mice. You can also ask her for advice and I'm sure she'll give you a good one, only you'll have to translate it from the cat language. She spends a lot of time looking out of the window thinking about philosophical topics and talking to birds.
I also invented a silly family name for her, so her full name sounds like Daisy Glasgow.

Daisy reading "The Taming of the Shrew"

Looking through the National Portrait Gallery catalogue

a pensive moment in a life of a cat hahaha

Christmas Cards

2010-11-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

Some fresh Christmas cards for you to get you into spirit! I know.. oh deer, not deer again.. well, i love deer so I have a right to stick to the topic, don't i ?
Please let me know which drawing you like best - i'm eager to know!

Oh, and have a great weekend dears!

Amelia's magazine

2010-11-18T09:42:00.000-08:00

I'm having busy days now but thoughts about Christmas keep me cheerful. I'll be posting some of my Christmas cards very soon and now it's time to make a post on
Amelia's magazine (you can have a look at some great photos by
Amelia Gregory herself!) This magazine is an online home for the latest fashion, music, art, etc news accompanied by various illustrations. I've been so glad to make art for Amelia's magazine, which you can view here and here along with my
bio (can you imagine this! i'm so uncomfortable about writing about myself, but here you go!

Here are some additional drawings I made, hope you enjoy them

So take a look and tell me what you think about all this!

Creature Curiosity

2010-11-16T02:56:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen! So lucky to have a day off today which I've so far spent on shopping, doodling and twittering (follow me on twitter :). Saw some Christmas trees in the shopping centre which brightened up my mood, because it's actually +18 C and it doesn't feel like Christmas at all!

I've also finished three drawings for
Creature Curiosity project, which I just couldn't miss! In short, illustrators have to submit half of a creature (either front or back) and then they'll be brought to children in the UK in different workshops etc. where they'll draw the whole thing! I submitted two: of a Caterpillar and a Fish, but i'm also showing you the first one I did of a Zebra. Hope you enjoy them!

Inspiration post #1: Stella Vine

2010-11-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

You know these constant questions like "What inspires you most?"or "Where do you get your inspiration?", etc. So I'm going to do a series of posts about what makes me draw and do what I do and never give up. Today I'll start with a great inspirational ART force. And it is Stella Vine 's art.

I came across Stella's paintings in 2005 and the first artwork I saw was of Lady Diana and then of Geri I think, which is the top one, i ADORE it! I mean look at her! Of course I fell in love with them at once. Why? Do you ever have an answer for why you fall in love? I guess not, it's just so hard to explain, it was just "my thing" right from the start. So since then I've become a fan. Here are some of my favourite paintings by Stella Vine and I hope you can feel this crazy energy that comes from them, from the colours and people depicted, as I do. For me it's a mix of love, naivety, passion, whimsy, seriousness, reality and imagination and... so many more things. That's what art is about for me. I feel so tired of "clean" computerized art which is so popular nowadays - it's soulless, i can't see the movement of brushes or pencils in it or the passion of the artist. perhaps style and short attraction, but nothing more.

Whenever I look at Stella Vine's art I just reach out for pencil and start drawing something, anything really. I can spend a good half an hour staring at Stella's paintings - she's my inspiration! So be sure to check out her site, if you already haven't done so ;) and await my next inspiration posts!

All art by Stella Vine (http://www.stellavine.com/) I hope this post puts you in good mood!

Haus Stories

2010-11-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

At last! I've been eyeing that level 33 in the amazing Sandra Dieckmann's art project Haus Stories. And my room has been added to that very tall and fun house :) So what's my story? I guess it goes back to my childhood when I very often dreamt at night about toys in room coming to life and talking to me (it'll make a great thriller in fact :D we discussed all sorts of things starting from my favourite kinds of soup to geography. At some point as a child I seriously believed that when I was alone in my room and closed my eyes, everything became ALIVE! I could hear odd sounds at night near my window and behind the wardrobe. Whether it was my imagination or a humble poltergeist I do not know, but I definitely had a fun time drawing this!

Bewitched, tired and encouraged

2010-10-31T06:18:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the trip (for those who don't know, I went to London) was quite busy there but managed to have some fun, meet friends whom I already miss and had a chat with one fantastic artist, whom I admire (I'll have to do a post on her great art, I just adore it so much!) I also paid visits to my beloved places (see previous post :) and saw A Design for Living by Noel Coward, which was absolutely great, excellent actors and the play's just hilarious. Anyway, too much to tell, while I have some other news waiting to be announced :)

First, Alice magazine has an interview with me in their winter issue (I had to answer the questions, and I hope I coped fine - I feel awkward answering about myself, I'd rather doodle you an answer :) The magazine is inspired by Steampunk, neo-Victorian movement, fairy-tales, and has articles on style, art and all things curious. You can look at it online, or buy a printed version! So happy, I'm going to grab one myself!
Also, Happy Halloween to everyone!
I'm celebrating with some baked pumpkins, apples, tea, candles, a Hitchcock movie and a feature in Ballad of blog!
Be sure to check the exqusite Ballad of magazine! And take care tonight :)

These are a few of my favourite... places

2010-10-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

What are your favourite places? So many answers to that... I thought a while ago of making a small zine dedicated to all the places that occupy a special place in my heart. I'm quite a traveller, but it has been mostly due to studying/work rather than holidays that I visit all the wonderful places in the world. So today I start with two London spots.

This is Old Vic theatre, which I'm absolutely in love with (and it's not only because it has great discounts on tickets :) The building itself looks like a piece of cake, a bit out of place, and for some reason smaller from the outside than it really is (a Tardis maybe? :D ) This, and also all the wonderful plays I've seen there(my favourite to date being Pygmalion!), make this place so very special.

This is a St Pancras station drawing which I made for my dear friends, the first encounter with whom was right there! What can I say - the building is gorgeous and every time I see it whether during my trips or on TV I get into a mood for travelling. It seems to me you can get anywhere in the universe from St Pancras!

Q&A

2010-10-16T03:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday everyone! This will be a long post, so brace yourself! :)
The wonderful Faye West at Faye West Illustration (her portraits are stunning!) invited me to answer her questions in the 7 question meme! Faye, your questions rock! hopefully my answers will roll :D

1. What would be your dream line up, dead or alive at a festival?

Mine is not necessarily a music festival:
The Beatles
Oscar Wilde reading one of his poems/fairy-tales
The Clash
Edgar A. Poe reading "The Raven"!
Alfred Hitchcock telling jokes
T-Rex performing "Cosmic Dancer"
David Hockney painting live
Winston Churchill just standing on the satge doing nothing
Tchaikovsky playing anything really
a hypnosis seance from David Lynch
a singing cats choir
headliners: Charles Dickens with Christmas Carol and young David Bowie please!!

2. What item of clothing will you never throw away, and why?

The button green boots I bought in a vintage store, which (according to the label) were made in Brazil.

3. What animal would you be?

Definitely a wolf.
But on Sundays I can afford to be a cuddly sloth though.

4. What is the strangest dream/nightmare you've ever had?

The one about JK Rowling being pregnant with her 7th book and doctors taking her to the hospital.
This was during the frenzy before the last Harry Potter was published, and I guess I was overwhelmed with all the news, so there.

5. Do you have a comfort film? And if you do, how many times have you watched it?

Anything by Hitchcock, especially 39 Steps and Sabotage. In fact I find thrillers and detective stories most comforting because in the darkest hour they convince me I'm not worse off than the people in the film :) But I won't say no to Mighty Boosh or other good comedy show!

6. Which era would you prefer to live in?

The era before phones, mobile phones, computers and other means of disturbing each other. I'd live in 18th century and write long boring letters to my friends with doodles, read by candlelight, curtsey, speak less and choose only the best words for conversations!

7. Do you know a song off by heart?

Many of them. I memorised the first one when I was 5. I used to be a fan of Audrey Hepburn, particularly her role in "My Fair Lady". The song I loved most was "On the street where you live" by Freddy (remember it? ooohh.. I used to be such an old-fashioned child :) So I learned the lyrics but couldn't understand a word as English is not my native language. Moreover the song sounded more like Chinese than English in my interpretation. Anyway I was so proud of myself because it was quite a challenge. I still can sing it by heart. correctly ;D

So, my questions are:

1. If you could sing like anyone in the music world, whose voice would you choose?
2. What fantastic creature would you like to have by your side?
3. Is there any book you can read again and again? What is it?
4. Is there any historic/cultural event you'd like to witness?
5. What did you want to be when you were a child?
6. Your inspiration comes from...
7. Five things that improve your mood

for these great people:
Lady Orlando at Lady Orlando blog
Claire at The Fairy Tale Cupboard
Arielle at Old Hat Diary
Liz at The Ink House
Andrea at A Cat of Impossible Colour
Mitzi Cocoa at Night Lights
Starr at A Thought is a Blossom
and Faye Durston who creates incredible art!

Hope you will have time to answer the questions and post yours to other bloggers!

Halloween's coming!

2010-10-11T13:40:00.001-07:00

So proud to have my Halloween- themed drawings featured on the wonderful blog Illustration Rally which has tons of excellent art! Yaaay!!

Crazy hair! Crazy days!

2010-10-07T04:31:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one these days (always actually) who is rushing all sorts of things and is really BUSY? I mean really. Sometimes I even like it, but not today. My to-do list seems to be neverending and I'm going a little crazy with all the deadlines. Anyway, yesterday I drew this --

which is supposed to be an illustration for Neil Gaiman's poem "Crazy hair" (my absolute favourite!!! here is a link of Neil Gaiman himself reading this inimitable piece of extravagant nonsense :)
The person in the drawing is inspired by Gaiman's looks )) So there... As to crazy parts of MY body, I guess right now the head would be the craziest of all.

Oh, and I've got a TUMBLR page (i'll be glad to see you there!), which I started rather suddenly... in September, hence the name. I hope you all, my dears, are keeping warm and cozy! keep calm and carry on as they say)

Papergirl/local showcase

2010-09-30T08:15:00.001-07:00

Hope you are having a cozy little Thursday, dears! If you are in Manchester ( i wish i were), come and see some of my ink drawings and some other works at the Soup Kitchen, which hosts an exhibition of Papergirl Manchester works. These will be distributed afterwards in the streets of Manchestaaaahh-so-much-to-answer-for-la-la by bicycles (tell me, why do i find this idea so romantic?)I'm very pleased that a complete stranger, a rather pleasant gentleman or lady will get something from me (by means of a bike! and of course thanks to all the organizers of the project) so there

Also, today there's been a showcase of works by the local artists in my city and here's what I brought for people to see.

I'm afraid my tea is getting cold... Toodle-oo!

Love,

Daria

I would be...

2010-09-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

If I weren't an illustrator I would be a sea ballerina.. okay, not really, but I'd gladly be an oceanologist, a diver, an explorer and the best friend of all the octopuses. When i was about 4 I used to watch Jacques Cousteau documentaries, and I was sure there was nothing better than to join him in his explorations. Alas, fate is cruel and I'm ... I have no idea who i am sometimes. At least I know who i want to be.

A very strange dream

2010-09-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

This was one of the strangest so far - I was standing with thousands of people on a plain at night and everything was extremely quiet. Then suddenly I realised it was in Argentina (you know how that happens in a dream - whatever you want really!) We raised our hands to the sky and it appeared that we all had artificial roses in them. Then everyone just vanished somewhere leaving all the flowers on the ground. I picked one and decided to go to Peru. I'm such a traveller, you know! :)