Rococo Cocoa

I've Moved!

2010-04-01T21:36:00.001-04:00

I forgot to mention that my blog has moved to Tumblr. Check it out:

Joe Lamour Everyday

New posts- you guessed it you smart devil- everyday.

I am a Television STAR

2009-08-04T13:43:00.005-04:00

So, I'm finally posting about this, and sorry folks, but I often forget that I even have a blog, because I have a habit of keeping my thumbs in like 100 pies. And I only have two thumbs, so you think about how complicated that gets.

So, I was on CBS news last Saturday. Well not me per se, but extensions of myself: my art. The company I work for, EdOptions, was featured on the CBS evening news, and some of my designs for the company were featured, as you can see in the above video, at about 3/4ths of the way through. Of course, its really just a passing shot, but its a close up passing shot. And my graphics have nothing to do with the subject (health care reform). But that's okay! National television! Say it with me.

All in all pretty sweet, I gotta say. Made my week! Check out some more of my ~~background atmosphere~~ nationally recognized designs below.

The Filter is Right

2009-07-26T13:29:00.003-04:00

I'm trying my hand at doing one of those graphic-designer-playing-around-with-quotes posters.

This is a ~~not so~~ quick study that I did for my upcoming poster. The best part about this is that it appears I invented a photoshop technique for something: glitter. Go figure. :)

I should have the actual thing finished... soon...ish.

Trussardi 1911 Beaded Necklace

2009-07-01T01:11:00.004-04:00

I haven't blogged about fashion in a long while... and I'm trying to make this a Joe-Lamour-Art-Related blog only, but I think this is okay since I'm planning on making this necklace here:

from The Sartorialist

from Men's Style

So, I've never beaded something before, but it's got to be easier than paying a thousand dollars for a necklace. More to come!

The Din of Shock

2009-06-26T00:29:00.003-04:00

There probably is nothing to say that hasn't been said. So I will leave you with my all time favorite song by the one, the only (understatement), Michael Jackson:

In conclusion (to everyone else's in the universe's thoughts): Crazy, yes - so we'll choose to ignore it today and talk about awesome pop music from the 80's. Rest in peace.

A Random Selection

2009-06-25T13:44:00.005-04:00

WTF with this picture, right?

"I did this a couple of months ago, but my music collection changes more often than my hair color because I’m constantly dragging and dropping things between my Macbook and my external hard drive, so I thought I’d do it again."

Also, what better way to procrastinate than by plundering my iTunes library?"

Number of Songs: 12,707
Most Recently Played Song: Little Boots - New in Town
Most Played Song: M83 - Skin of the Night
Most Recently Added Album: Little Boots - Hands

First Song Alphabetically: Vampire Weekend - A Punk
Last Song Alphabetically: Basement Jaxx - Zoomalude
Smallest Song Numerically: Sol Seppy - 1 2
Biggest Song Numerically: Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies

Shortest Song: Janet Jackson - Interlude: Memory (0:05)
Longest Song: Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline (18:08)

First Album Alphabetically: Aaliyah - Aaliyah
Last Album Alphabetically: Hellogoodbye - Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!
First Album Numerically: Beatles - 1 (Even though its a compillation)
Last Album Numerically: Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

First Five Songs That Pop Up On Shuffle:
Louis Armstrong - La vie en rose (Single Version)
Joss Stone - Less Is More
Tresspassers William - My Hands Up
Aqualung - The Lake
Death Cab for Cutie - Lightness

Interesting. To me, at least.

Reblogged from Triumph of BS

Blog Updates... Again

2009-06-22T11:58:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I decided that I wanted my blog to more closely reflect my upcoming website, so I switched a few colors around. It also had an additional positive in that it's a little more legible around here. Which is always a plus.

Past Afrocentricity

2009-06-18T16:17:00.002-04:00

Here's a cover I designed for the Liberator Magazine. I'm liking this whole cutout side illustration thing I have going. All the patterns (Her dress and the background) were created by yours truly. Textures include mahogany wood, scanned rice paper and linen.

True Blood Premiere Party

2009-06-09T12:15:00.004-04:00

So, I love me some True Blood. I've read all 9 books, and I will preorder the 10th as SOON as it becomes available. I'm having a vampire themed premiere party complete with vampire cupcakes and blood martinis. Yeah, I'm crafty like that. Anyway, heres an invitation I designed on the quick for it. The logo is unavailable elsewhere so I just traced it from a screenshot (obsessed, I know). Here's a link to the article about the font. Good work, Camm Rowland.

Aurora, Rare, Beautiful, and Time Consuming

2009-06-05T16:26:00.011-04:00

Here is the first draft of a little something I'm doing for my 9-5, an educational software company. The aim was to have a school subject (this one being astronomy) leap off the screen, and hopefully if the head honcho likes it enough, it'll be featured as a full marketing campaign.

I looked at some tutorials on how to get an aurora borealis look in photoshop at design sites Abduzeedo and looking at the art of James White, Justin Maller and God himself, but it took me a hell of a long time to get the fairly realistic look that I wanted. All and all, I think this was a pretty good go at it. I think I have a little refining to do... I'll keep you (all three of you) updated!

It all matches!

2009-06-04T00:55:00.006-04:00

So my blog now fits thematically with my website, and my twitter. Excellence in motion. Now on to business card designs. And actually finishing my website and getting collateral together and taking my bio picture and...

picture from awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Pardon My Dust

2009-05-26T21:30:00.003-04:00

I'm changing my blogger theme. It's not this one, don't worry, but will be a fantastic reflection of www.joelamour.com . Now, if to figure this all out...

Two times in a row!

2009-05-21T09:28:00.005-04:00

This must be some record! I blogged not once, but two times in a row.

I, again, have resigned my logo. I'm glad I didn't order those business cards! For this redesign, I refer to one of my favorite design blogs, BrandNew for an image-and-explain format:

So, the reason I switched logos is that the first logo I designed was made from one of my favorite fonts, and the thing is just that... it was a font. It was pretty, yes, but my hand just wasn't in it. So, I took the original letterforms as a illustration and I actually hand drew my initials.

I feel as if my logo says this: that my work is elegant, but still has aesthetically pleasing imperfections that make my work so endearing. Also it shows I know both vector design (graphic design) and hand drawing (illustration), which are the two main services I provide.

Redesign of this blog (and its header) and identity to follow soon. Hurray for change!

I know, I know

2009-05-20T09:47:00.005-04:00

I know guys. The three of you who read my blog have been asking: where in the world have the posts been? Well all I can say is I apologize. Just know, as long as I still do art, and blogger is still in business, this blog will be updated... eventually.

I've been designing my new website for a while, and I've even had the web space for a full two months without even loading a coming soon splash page. Silly me. But all that is fixed! I have a theme, and consistent branding, et.cetera.

So this is what my site will look like eventually. A little more variety in the way of thumbnails, though. Stay tuned!

FFFFound Coolness

2009-02-04T14:50:00.002-05:00

These randomly generated images in the bottom left corner (from ffffound) interact in a nifty way.

Similarities

2009-01-28T23:38:00.003-05:00

On the left, my picture, on the right, Kanye.

My picture was taken about a year ago.

I had no advance knowledge of his picture,

lthough mine was taken a couple

of months after his was published in GQ.

What does it say that Kanye West and I have had almost identical photoshoots?

One More Reason I love Amy Adams

2009-01-20T23:40:00.003-05:00

Adams Glad Idol Wasn't Around When She Was A Kid

Doubt star Amy Adams is glad American Idol didn't exist when she was growing up - because it would have wrecked her dream of becoming a star.

The actress is a huge fan of the U.S. talent show, and she fears if it had aired when she was young, she would have been among the hopefuls turning up to auditions - and that would have been a disaster.

She explains, "I would have taken my ill-suited pop voice and gone in and sung some musical theatre song, and they would have put it on air, and I would never, ever (have) ended up here.

"I would have humiliated myself publicly and probably shrunk off and done something else with my life."

From IMDB.

The Sunday Best

2009-01-02T05:13:00.005-05:00

Does Resort simply mean casual? (How awesome is this model's expression. She's wondering why she's wearing a teapot as a skirt.)

I love fashion blog The Sunday Best. I can't find any information about the blogger, but I from what I can discern he is funny and Canadian. His blog covers everything from what he's wearing that day to flavorful commentary (like about Isaac Misrahi's 2009 Resort Collection) to even a comic (about fashion, but still a comic- it looks very Monty Python to me). So you should check it out.

Charade

2008-12-24T14:58:00.005-05:00

I'm watching Charade right now and the clothes in it are absolutely magical.

I especially like what James Coburn is wearing:

All of Audrey's clothes are by Givenchy. I'd give anything to dress like this every day.

Invitation Tribute: Catalina Estrada

2008-12-18T06:33:00.008-05:00

(click image to enlarge and see detail)

My first task for new years was to create the image for our New Years Party. I decided I wanted to do a gradient bonanza a la Catalina Estrada. She is a fantastic artist that uses gradients for her images in wild psychadelic patterns:

Just gorgeous. Take a look at Catalina Estrada's fantastic work here.

Spearsmas

2008-12-17T00:18:00.003-05:00

Say what you want about Britney Spears, but you have to be a good sport to run around Los Angeles in those getups with Ellen freaking out random people.

Via D-Listed.

Long Found Love

2008-12-11T14:07:00.003-05:00

Loree: Oh my god...

Loree: I like technology and stuff but a guy i spoke to from online dating just contacted me...

Loree: From like 5 -6 years ago. Men don't believe in time do they.

Me: ...from 5-6 years ago?

Loree: YEAH

Loree: Insanity.
Me: You're clearly exaggerating, right?

Loree: Nope... i wish i was lol

Me: that
Me: is
Me: utter
Me: INSANITY

Is this not...

2008-12-08T11:18:00.005-05:00

...the creepiest thing ever?! Paintings/Photographs by Fumie Sasabuchi.

Jesus.

In other news, I bought a vintage tie clip this weekend that has a little doorknocker attached to a chain. I wanted to take a picture and include it in my blog, but sadly, my camera died. Go figure.

via Trendland.

Twitter Pitter Patter

2008-11-28T12:28:00.005-05:00

Added twitter to the bar on the right. You don't know how excited that makes me.

I am also a part of Blog Catalog. Maybe I'll have 4 readers because of it instead of three? ;)

New Feature! Play Count Day

2008-11-24T12:22:00.003-05:00

For a while, I had a Song of the Week post, and then I got lazy or something (who knows with me) and stopped. But I still yearn to share my love of music with you somehow. And so! This new category appears- Play Count Day. Every Monday, I shall detail to you what songs have been all up in my craw as of late.

This week's Play Count comes courtesy of Beyonce's latest album I am... Sasha Fierce.

I don't care how gay the title of the album sounds, it's really good and she'll probably take home 47 grammies. I tend to listen to songs on repeat a lot. Not just a lot. a. lot. I've been overly obsessed with the second track "Halo" on her album and the play count on my iPod is officially at 89. Yup- that's right. 89.

You may wonder how in the hell I could of listened to the song almost 100 times in 6 days. Let me give you a fair vision on how often I listen to music:

I wake up at 6:30AM to an iPod set alarm and take a shower with my battery powered speaker system (which I connect my ipod to) then travel to work listening to- you guessed it- my iPod. At work I listen to music most if not all of the 8 hours while I'm working and when I travel home I continue to listen.

When I get home I sometimes make dinner to music and that's usually where my music listening stops, around 6:30PM. Thats 12 hours 5 days a week. I dont know about you, but I seem to like music.

Official Documents

2008-11-21T12:20:00.003-05:00

You have to admit getting letters personally addressed to me from the White House makes me cooler than you.

Steve Urkel: Fashionista

2008-10-31T11:17:00.006-04:00

So I decided that for Halloween I was going to be none other than Steve Urkel, dork extrordinaire from everyone's favorite TGIF show, Family Matters. Really, I loved it, none of that Step by Step crap. So anyway... in looking for the items that he wears, I find that many of them are at this very instant, in vogue. Like... literally. Everything!

Don't believe me? I'll prove it:

From head to toe:

Oversized glasses: Below, Kelis in a tortise-shell pair.
Varsity Cardigan: $169.00 from Rugby.com
Suspenders: $195.00 (Really?) from Ralph Lauren (oh, that's why) Online.
Striped Polo (or Lumberjack Shirts, as he was prone to wear- check here and here): $160.00 from Saks
High Waisted Pants:
Showing your Socks: from the Thom Browne Spring show.
Wingtipped Loafers (Gucci, $476.00 on Bluefly.com)

So, in conclusion: Steve Urkel was not actually a dork, but an awkward fashionista way ahead of his time.

Why I love The Simpsons, reason #248

2008-10-29T12:44:00.002-04:00

Via NOTCOT.

Life Question #2000

2008-10-28T23:21:00.002-04:00

This dude up here is the host of The Pickup Artist* on VH1.

I don't understand how anyone could possibly ever let themselves be had by someone in that hat.

*The Pickup Artist is that show on VH1 where the guy above shows other men how to pick up women. Since when has a guy in a hat like that gotten laid? When? When! And don't say Tommy Lee, cause he has something else working for him.

Website Inspiration #1

2008-10-27T10:41:00.006-04:00

I am, admittedly, going through a bit of job stress lately. Hopefully no one with a big mouth who works at my 9-5 will read this and go blabbing, but I'm sort of at the point where I don't rightfully care anymore I guess... As Wanda Sykes would say,

“I love getting older, because the older I get, the less I care. The words ‘I don’t give a fuck’ just fly out of my mouth. And if I’m not saying it, I’m thinking it.”

Naturally, this has affected my drive to post as often as I would like. And for the (one, two?) readers of my blog, I apologize. Now on to bigger, happier things...

Above you see a couple of screenshots from book cover designer Darren Haggar's website. So simple, yet to the point. He really lets the work shine with a simple drop shadow on white. Check out his other work too, it's all so good.

B.H.O.

2008-10-25T12:08:00.004-04:00

I did a drawing for Civilian Art Projects here in DC for a Barack Obama benefit. It's the largest drawing I've done to date at nearly 4 and a half feet square.

© Joseph Lamour 2008. If you would like to post this, please let me know. Thanks!

Love... Bonnie-style

2008-10-23T00:05:00.005-04:00

Me: Bonnie Raitt has come up once every day for the last four days
Me: is that not wierd?
Carin: how so?
Me: Like Monday was talking about how in college when i had a bad breakup i listened "ICan't Make You Love Me" (editor's note: shut up) on repeat all night
Me: and then the Tuesday on the radio it was mentioned she was hosting an event somewhere
Carin: hahah
Me: and then yesterday someone mentioned to me hearing her song on Pandora
Carin: and nessie has it in her away message right now
Me: Yeah! Isn't that wierd!
Carin: There must be love in the air for you...Bonnie Rait style
Me: ... Unless that means I'm getting a redhead in the sack soon I don't like where this is going

Try, Try, Try

2008-10-01T03:24:00.004-04:00

No it a'int, buddy.

This may be 3:30 AM talking, but I decided that I'm going to try for a MacArthur fellowship. Sounds fancy, no? That's cause it is.

Viva Cuervo!

2008-09-23T10:31:00.003-04:00

I will be entering this a lot. Simply cause it's so easy and a hoot. You should too. I just uploaded a drawing from college, Buh-Caw:
but I plan on doing a tequila related piece or two for it.

This has gotten me thinking about tequila at 10AM. Which I suggest you do often.

Apple Balloon

2008-09-22T01:39:00.006-04:00

I kept forgetting to post this, so, instead of being asleep like I should be at this hour, I'm finally putting it up. Do click on the image to see detail.

This was a hand drawn character taken into Illustrator and traced. Then, I added texture and some other stuff (like her shadow) and ta-da! There she is. I love her dress.

For Liberator Magazine 7.2.

I'm ready for...

2008-09-15T20:05:00.003-04:00

Poaeez by Reza Pishgahi

butternut squash soup
the warm smell of cinnamon
hot cider
wassail, for that matter
hot toddy, for that matter
pockets of fireplace scent during a walk
pumpkin cookies
nutmeg
the prevalence of orange in an outdoor palette
long sleeves
jack o' lanterns
layering
apple crisp
the sound of drum brushes being appropriate in music
light scarves and cardigans
autumn.

iPod love.

2008-09-11T16:37:00.003-04:00

So today I was looking for songs by Laura Love on my iPod and I discovered that I have 823 songs with the word, album, or artist including the word "love" in it. Since I never let things concerning my iPod rest, I decided to do a little math.

I have 13,169 songs total. This means if I calculate the percentage ("love" songs divided by all songs) then I get .0643177, or about 6.43%. That's a lot of love, considering everything you could possibly write about. My friend Carly has 1,343 "love" songs and 22,033 (Jesus!) songs total, which makes her love song percentage a pretty solid 6%.

Because I'm at work and bored to death, I decided to go a step further. "Love songs" don't necessarily have to have the word "love" in it, so I compiled a short list of words that are synonyms of love and how many are on my iPod:

passion- 30 songs
marry+marriage- 7+14=21
heart- 247 (I mean, christ, people- can a brotha get some original lyrics?)
romance- 10
sex (generalizing)- 58
erotic (again, generalizing)- 1 (can you guess which song this is?)

I of course went through and tacked on a "-1" for songs with more than one of these words in it, Frank Sinatra. Accounting for the Minuses, which were -52. So, 823+347-52. That leaves me with a total of 1,118 love related songs- of course, this is only by title, so I guess this would be uncreatively titled love related songs, right?

My iPod thusly has a 8.5% uncreatively titled love related song ratio. What does yours have?

In accordance with Hooray Ray.

9/11 Birthdays

2008-09-11T09:25:00.001-04:00

These (famous) people were born today:

Harry Connick Jr. (41)
Ariana Richards (29)
Ben Lee (30)
Ludacris (31)
Elephant Man- The Rapper(33)
Richard Ashcroft (37)
Taraji P. Henson (38)
Moby (43)
Virginia Madsen (47)
Elizabeth Daily (46)
Kristy McNichol (46)
Scott Patterson (50)
Amy Madigan (58)
Brian De Palma (68)

Makes you wonder how one can celebrate a birthday today without offending anyone...

Joe, your leggings are FETCH.

2008-09-08T12:34:00.003-04:00

Me: I'm thinking of buying a Vivienne Westwood shirt
Carin: a mens top?

Really, people? Am I that gay now that it's not hard to believe I'd wear women's clothing? Although, that dress does look pretty nice on Hong up there...

[Picture from Bryanboy]

La vida es hermosa, y así que es NY

2008-09-07T16:42:00.004-04:00

I found a blog this morning, we could grow up together, and the blogger's photographs make me want to move back to New York. Being in Manhattan in the summer is one of those rare experiences that is fantastic even if you have no money. Just walking around leaves you with memories as vivid as the image above, even if you don't have a camera.

Lemons2Lemonade

2008-09-05T11:41:00.002-04:00

Me: When life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold.

Andy: When life gives you lemons, you eat a miracle berry and then eat the lemon
Andy: It is delicious

No, but really.

2008-09-04T10:59:00.002-04:00

Loree: omg that new nicholas cage movie... i have no idea what it's about because all I see is his bad toupee

Oh my sister...

Ha.

2008-08-31T01:52:00.002-04:00

What comes after triple monitors?

2008-08-28T02:08:00.002-04:00

What I wouldn't do for the above setup.

I am currently working on one of my laptops which is dually connected to my flat screen monitor and I'm watching TV on my other laptop.

I am officially ridiculous.

Downtime Tutorials

2008-08-27T15:10:00.002-04:00

Further branding and website theme inspiration through Abduzeedo tutorials. I tried my hand at light painting using part of this tutorial. Pretty nifty.

Blogmatized

2008-08-26T01:17:00.004-04:00

I have a really frequent habit of getting blogmatized. It's a little better than being dickmatized, but it burns a lot less calories. I've been reading the blog of one Leonidas. Says he,

"I'm 24, from Athens, Greece, currently living in London, UK. I'm interested in intimacy, (male) nudity, sexuality and personal spaces. I only work with film, colour. I also use my sx-70 polaroid a lot."

Anyhow, I find peoples' lives astounding and intruiging (especially other artists and actors), and I've been reading his blog "cover to cover" as it were.

I really dig his photography. And I want to make a shirt like the one above. I'll save my discussions about my fashion aspirations for a future post.

Five Reactions

2008-08-20T00:58:00.006-04:00

The following is me and four of my friends' reactions to this slighty disturbing story about this guy who wanted to be displayed standing at is funeral. I just thought how it was interesting how differently some of us reacted to it. Click here and here for the story if you dare...

Carly: .....................................this story

Carly: is SO DISTURBING TO ME
Carly: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080819/ap_on_fe_st/puerto_rico_standing_wake
[pause]

Me: that

Me: is

Me: SOME SHIT

Carly: its so creepy!!!!

Carly: SO CREEPY

____________________

Me: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080819/ap_on_fe_st/puerto_rico_standing_wake

Eli: Did he write a suicide note?

Me: I dont think he killed himself...

Eli: How did they know his wish was to be standing?

Me: I dunno, he probably mentioned it a couple of times

Me: My family knows i want there to be a raucous party at my funeral
Me: ...knock on wood

____________________

Me: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080819/ap_on_fe_st/puerto_rico_standing_wake
Loree: What is WRONG with people!
Loree: God in heaven
Loree: omg
Loree: My jaw is still... OMG
____________________

Me: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080819/ap_on_fe_st/puerto_rico_standing_wake
Rachel: GREAT IDEA

Rachel: Now i know what i want at my funeral

Rachel: but that dude is creepy looking

Me: The whole thing is creepy!

American Apparel Sheer T-shirt

2008-08-16T19:18:00.004-04:00

Very versatile sheer t-shirt from American Apparel. I wouldn't just wear it alone like bachelor number one up there (at least until I get some 6 pack abs), but I think it would be great for layering or wearing under a cardigan. I'm definitely getting one of these, but I cant decide on which color.

I'll probably end up getting all of them, because I am ridiculous.

Boo to "Luau Carly"

2008-08-14T00:05:00.001-04:00

My great friend Carly is in Hawaii and she sent me this using her phone. Jealousy!

And So It Begins

2008-08-12T23:52:00.005-04:00

I've done 250 of these components so far.

Remember this? If you don't (you don't) let me refresh: I'm designing wedding invitations for my friend Amelia and her fiancee Joe (not me) and we have gone through months of edits, text changes, mother's changes, more mother's changes, more more mother's changes- and now we're here!

They are inviting around 170 people (all with at least 1 "plus one"- that's a lot of people!) and thusly, I'm hand making around 170 invitations. See, that sounds tough doesn't it. But get this- Each invite has 4 separately cut printed components, printed labels, backing sheets that need to be cut, ribbons that need to be cut, wrists that need to be cut...

It turns out that when I'm done with them I will have cut 170 x 6 components to = 1,020 components in all, 4,080 (or therearounds) slices of the exacto. Crazy!

Anyway, I'm keeping track of how long it takes me so that when I charge another wedding invite client, I know I'm getting my money's worth. So, its really a good thing in the end. And think of the ice breaker I have at the wedding! "Hey, you know the invite you got in the mail that was absolutely gorgeous? Yeah, all me baby. Here's my card."

Random Model of the Day

2008-08-12T09:22:00.003-04:00

Some random dude from the t-shirt website, Design by Humans. I'm only posting this cause my exact words when I opened saw him this morning were "I mean damn!"

My coworkers are used to my outbursts, I imagine.

Happy Hour, Friday

2008-08-11T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's a Whisky Sour. Tasty.

Ugly Gossip Betty Girl

2008-08-10T13:02:00.005-04:00

America looks like she's about to cut a bitch. It's beautiful.

From DListed.

What I'm Wearing Today

2008-08-08T09:48:00.002-04:00

I've decided to do this when I feel I'm wearing a cute outfit. That is all.

Beautiful Blasphemy

2008-08-07T23:55:00.003-04:00

I have been seeing this cover all over fashion blogs recently and every time I have to pause, cause I just love it so. From Pop Magazine - which can get Agyness Deyn and Naomi Campbell to model for them, but can't hire a web designer to make a website past their myspace page (!?!)- September 2008. My first issue as art director comes out soon, so I have my eyes open extra extra wide.

Red? What's Red?

2008-08-07T15:33:00.002-04:00

Ever wonder what it was like to be colorblind? Color + design blog has an interesting article (complete with pictures like this Warhol here) of what 7% of men and 0.4% of women in the US and elsewhere see every day.

That being said, I like the color palette of the color blind. I may even do a piece of art with it.

All I Need is a Tux...

2008-08-06T23:13:00.003-04:00

I bought a bowtie! A real, tie it yourself one too. It's a terrible picture for actually SEEING the bowtie.... I think I need to locate a place in my house that actually supports light, my bedroom is on the bottom floor, and light is sparse. Maybe one day I'll take a picture in the brilliance of day when I wear it out.

I'm definitely wearing it in November, My friend Carly and I are going to go see the Washington National Opera's production of Carmen at the Kennedy Center. Denyce Graves is starring. Apparently she happens to be one of the best opera singers on earth. Awesome.

I have no idea how Fred Astaire found a bowtie for guys with necks as big as his waist, But I want to try this sometime... It most likely would have to be that exact outfit in order to not look ridiculous.

Oh, Anderson.

2008-08-05T23:56:00.003-04:00

I was watching the silver fox on Regis and Kelly and amongst his favorite shows are:

Flipping Out
Project Runway
Talk Soup
Living Lohan, and
Denise Richards: Its Complicated,
which he calls "Denise Richards Colon Its Complicated"

Like... I'm not saying he's gay or anything...

I'm just saying I watch the exact same shows, and therefore we should watch them cuddling in bed together. While I apply "Touch of Grey" to his scalp.

Slice of Life: Steaming Geriatric

2008-08-01T14:42:00.002-04:00

Lizzy: Did you hear about the cougar at the University of Maryland?

Me: The actual cat or a foxy old lady?

There. are. no. words.

2008-07-29T01:39:00.001-04:00

(From FFFFOUND!)

Wishlist: Hi Top Sneakers

2008-07-27T08:50:00.007-04:00

These sneakers will be mine... They must be. Sneaky Steve Rodeo Shoe from Urban Outfitters. Payday cannot come soon enough...

UPDATE: There are also these contenders... from Double Identity, a London based streetwear line. Available at Seven NY. I'm going to buy one of these come payday. Which one should I buy?
Leave your opinions in the comments section.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Another pair of Double Identity Sneakers. I'm in hi-top heaven. Also from Seven NY.

Song of the Week 21: Converse Gallery

2008-07-27T03:05:00.004-04:00

I've decided to make my song of the week- actually one song, each week. Whodathunk...

This week's song is care of the company that covers my feet half of the time... Converse. This song was created to mark the 100th anniversary of Converse. More about the song here.

"My Drive Thru" by NERD, Santogold and Julian Casablancas.

Logo Redesign... Already!

2008-07-23T23:29:00.009-04:00

So a new contender for logo has arrived. It's two swashy "JL"s interlocked. I like it for it's symmetry, its simplicity of concept. It really has some great design potential too. Look at some business card designs I came up with in like 3 minutes:

And a back to the card too...

Fancy look, better clients... right?

Campari

2008-07-23T23:01:00.003-04:00

After a few drinks everything gets confusing... but not this confusing*

*Awesome casting, though, the guy really looks like a woman (and walks like one too!) and the woman really just looks like a girly-model-man.

Song of the Week 20: Stereolab

2008-07-18T15:27:00.005-04:00

I heart Stereolab. They say you either love all of Stereolab, or nothing about them at all, and I have to say I'm one of the people who proudly love everything they come up with. So, on this delicious friday, enjoy my 20th song of the week theme, Stereolab*.

1."The Man with 100 Cells" by Stereolab
2."Excursions into Oh, A-Oh" by Stereolab
3."Space Moth" by Stereolab

(*These are my three favorite songs by them.)

Really?

2008-07-14T11:15:00.003-04:00

Me: That is the definition of OVERPHOTOSHOPPING

Carly: I THOUGHT THE SAME THING!!!!

Carly: like the minute I saw it i was like JESUS

Carly: he looks like he should be in a final fantasy scene

Did Matthew Fox get his faced buffed by a zamboni recently?

From Dlisted.

WTF Clear blue?

2008-07-13T15:06:00.003-04:00

Are they marketing this to men? What is up with this commerical?

Update: Apparently there's an explanation for this. from the outside though, it just seems like a ridiculously stupid commerial. E for effort though.

Wishlist: Zuriick Shoes

2008-07-11T14:26:00.004-04:00

I really want these shoes. Really badly.
$65.00 from Zuriick.

Slice of Life: Ron Mueck

2008-07-11T09:26:00.006-04:00

Loree: (links to that ^)
Loree: Amazing!

Me: That's a really gross looking baby

Loree: She was just born

Loree: She didn't have time to go to the salon

(click on the image if you like this sort of thing)

Song of the Week 19: Haiti

2008-07-09T09:50:00.002-04:00

This week's theme is where I'm from by way of my parents... Haiti!
(Each artist on this list is from my home country, Haiti.)

1."Gade Papi" (Look, Boy) by Emeline Michel
2."Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" by Arcade Fire
3."Pa Manyen Fanm Man" (Don't Touch My Hand) by Sweet Micky
4."911" by Wyclef Jean

Spell Check T Shirt

2008-07-06T00:15:00.004-04:00

I really want to make a spell check t-shirt. I'm unsure of what misspelled (is "misspelled" misspelled?) word to use. In any event, it would be an opportunity to use times new roman in a good way. How about that. Gonna think about what word to use for a little while.

Song of the Week 18: Independence

2008-07-03T11:19:00.003-04:00

Today's theme is Independence... tommorow is Freedom Day! Hurray! USA! USA!

1."Think" Aretha Franklin
2."The Star Spangled Banner" Whitney Houston
3."America the Beautiful" Ray Charles with Alicia Keys
4."Freedom" George Michael
5."The National Anthem" Radiohead

Have a happy fourth! Get drunk and watch fireworks!

Albums I Love from Start to Finish*

2008-07-03T10:42:00.003-04:00

Aaliyah "Aaliyah"
Arianne Moffatt "Aquanaute"
Bat for Lashes "Fur and Gold"
The Bird and the Bee "The Bird and the Bee"
Bjork "Vespertine"
Blonde Redhead "Misery is a Valentine" & "23"
Charlotte Church "Tissues and Issues" (shut up)
Delgados "Hate"
Feist "The Reminder"
Final Fantasy "He Poos Clouds"

Frou Frou "Details"
Imogen Heap "Speak for Yourself"
Jason Mraz "Waiting for My Rocket to Come"
Jem "Finally Woken"
Kate Havnevik "Melankton"
Keane "Under the Iron Sea"
Kenna "New Sacred Cow"
Kings of Convenience "Riot on an Empty Street"
Lavender Diamond "Imagine Our Love"
M83 "Saturdays=Youth"
Madonna "Confessions on a Dance Floor" (hey, gay here, remember)
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's "The Dust of Retreat"
Menomena "Friend and Foe"
Midlake "The Trials of Van Occupanther"
Ms. John Soda "Notes and the Like"
Natalie Walker "Urban Angel"
Peter Bjorn and John "Writer's Block"
The Postmarks "The Postmarks"

Radiohead "Kid A"
Sade "Lovers Rock" and "Stronger than Pride"
Sara Bareilles "Little Voice"
Sarah McLachlan "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" and "Surfacing"
Scissor Sisters "Music is the Victim"
Sia "Colour the Small One"
Sissy "All Under"
Every Stereolab Album. Literally.
Telepopmusik "Angel Milk"
Tori Amos "Scarlet's Walk" And "Little Earthquakes"
Yelle "Pop Up"
Zero 7 "When It Falls"

*My resident brit and I were having a convo this morning about albums I love from beginning to end, and it got me thinking.

Song of the Week 17: Learn It

2008-06-26T16:26:00.003-04:00

You gotta love Google Image Search... singer with guitar...

This week's theme is a little self serving... whateva. I'm starting Guitar lessons with my sister and brother (so we can all star in the black remake of The Partridge Family together) and I want to eventually be able to learn some songs that I've been singing along to for a little while. That list is huge, but here are a few choice songs:

1. "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes
2. "My Goodbye" by Elizabeth and the Catapult
3. "Butterflyz"(I despise that spelling) by Alicia Keys
4. "I Get a Kick Out of You" sung by Ella Fitzgerald

Till next week!

Nantucket in a Bucket

2008-06-25T11:53:00.002-04:00

These are ridiculously uninteresting.

Slice of Life: Touchet

2008-06-20T13:38:00.000-04:00

Me: Well... yo momma.
Lizzy: She's on her way to El Salvador

So it should be "tu mama".

A New Logo

2008-06-20T09:22:00.005-04:00

So, I do some graphic design on the side. As my main job is as a graphic designer for museums doesn't cover logo design, invitations, posters, et cetera, I need to keep up a website showing some of my personal work. Thusly, I'm spending $2000+ on a new fancy laptop and programs that will look all graphic designer-y at meetings and I'm constantly updating this blog with my cool looking shit.

That said I need to brand myself. In the coming months you will see business card designs, letterhead, website proposals interspersed with work I'm doing for clients, and so on.

My point. I've decided that one of these will be my logo. (They're my initials) Do you like one in particular? This will be an integral part of everything JFL Design. Simple and clean. Thoughts? Let's see if I can hit a comment record.

Song of the Week 16: Gay Love Songs

2008-06-19T11:53:00.003-04:00

In light of the recent ruling in California, this week's theme is gay love songs. Featuring an illustrated swash album cover care of yours truly. Enjoy!

1. "I Kissed a Girl" by Jill Sobule (the famous one)
2. "Little Boy" by The Aluminum Group (the breakup one)
3. "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry (the experimental one)
4. "Constant Craving" by K.D. Lang (the coming out one)
5. "I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" by the Magnetic Fields (the one thats so cool cause the guy's voice is so deep and he's talking about another dude one)

Heat Death of the Universe

2008-06-18T08:55:00.003-04:00

In high school, I had an English teacher named Ms. Machemer. More on her at a later date. I don't feel like typing that much. However, a tidbit: she looked like Ursula the Sea witch from The Little Mermaid. Think purple eyeshadow. She introduced us to a lot of different kinds of literature, which I appreciate. She often handed out short stories by authors I've never heard of, and wouldn't find out about on my own.

One such short story was "The Heat Death of the Universe" by Pamela Zoline. It's about a housewife preparing for her sons birthday, and she's losing it a little. (Understatement)

Take a read. I'm thinking (way) ahead into the future after Black Fruit is done, maybe doing a series of pieces on this. Chew on that for a spell. Song of the week coming up later today.

Art-O-Matic Highlights

2008-06-16T14:20:00.007-04:00

Here's some good stuff from Art-O-Matic that I caught on Friday with friends:

From top to bottom: (Unknown, Dale R Hunt, Lynn Putney, Unknown)

For some strange reason it didn't strike me to take a photo of my old boss's piece in the show. Why? I dunno! Wait, I do...I was kind of drunk- which is why there also aren't more pictures. I'm surprised these even came out clear. I'm also surprised it didn't strike me to even read the names of the artists' work I liked. Who knows. Beer does strange things to people.

Swim Trunks

2008-06-14T14:27:00.007-04:00

Hopefully, sometime this summer I'll be going to the beach. I've been looking at some trunks lately, and I'm using this blog to think out loud about a couple of trunks I'm thinking about getting:

Smooth Company Classico Shorts in White, $75, from Revolve Clothing

Trovata Linen Boardshorts in White, $132, from Revolve Clothing

Penguin Solid Boardshorts in Ballad Blue, $59, from Revolve Clothing

Fred Perry Swimshort, $58, from Gargyle.

In other news, ther are always these Juicy Couture shorts...

Hot, no?

no.

Francois Brunelle Lookalikes

2008-06-13T14:35:00.004-04:00

Very cool photog. Francois Brunelle. He's doing a series of photographs on unrelated lookalikes. Check it out.

I have my own lookalike proposal to give. This model (who's name I unfortunately don't know) from a James Cameron show, and actress Brooke Burns.

They look just alike! It's just so creepy. In other news, I was published by Overheard in the Office. I won't tell you which quote, or what day, but I think it'll be pretty obvi. That is all, folks. Have a great weekend people!

Progress

2008-06-12T09:27:00.004-04:00

pluck (n.)-
1. the trait of showing courage and determination in spite of possible loss or injury [syn: gutsiness]
2. the act of pulling and releasing a taut cord

I've decided a title for my first Black Fruit series piece. Pluck is basically an emotion piece, which is to say it really doesn't have concise message, I really want people to take what they will from it. I know I have my own meaning, and I bet it'll pretty clear once it's in the context of my other pieces from this series.

Here's a closeup of what the vines will look like. I hope to finish this by next week. With any luck!

Song of the Week 15: Heat

2008-06-11T10:47:00.010-04:00

So with a few of my friends (who may be reading my blog for the first time-Hey!) I send out a Song of the Week e-mail, with a few songs that share a theme, a word, a type, whatever. I've decided to take this on to my blog thanks to this media player I found. Pretty awesome.

For Newcomers, Song of the Week is something to keep me sane at work. Plus, you get to listen to music without haveing to download anything. Think of it as Rococo Cocoa Radio.

Today's theme is Heat. Yesterday it was 100 degrees in my office. Thank it for my inspiration. Click the little play buttons and a player will magically appear. It's really frackin' nifty.

"Summer in the City" Regina Spektor
"Heat Wave" Martha and the Vandellas
"The Heat" Toni Braxton
"Hot Child in the City" Nick Gilder
"Hot Hot Hot" Buster Poindexter

Do me a favor people. Leave me a comment. I want to gauge how many peeps read my stuffs. I'll keep doing it if no one does, the three people who definitely read it! :)

Susan Komen Walk: Banner in Action

2008-06-10T11:43:00.000-04:00

I don't know how they could survive in that heat!

Ah... by staying cool in the American Indian Museum

They even met Gabrielle Union...

Long Break! I'm Back though!

2008-06-04T10:55:00.000-04:00

You know... work is crazy. But now its not, so much... so here's a design that I did for my sister + cousin's team for the upcoming Susan Komen Breast Cancer Walk on Saturday in DC.

New Drawing "Black Fruit"

2008-05-05T11:57:00.000-04:00

Excuse the blurriness... And the shadow. But here's the first piece from my new seires "Black Fruit". Just polling... what does the fruit I'm holding look like?

Here's an artist's statement:

"Black Fruit is a discovery of my unique situation of belonging to two well talked about social groups- African Americans, and gays. As a black gay artist I want to talk about my relationship dynamics affected by my upbringing in a Haitian household, and my race in relation to my love life. Black Fruit is a symbolic study of two things that make up who I am and the experiences I've been through because of them."

For my next trick...

2008-04-10T15:41:00.000-04:00

Collage reference for upcoming drawing.

I'm going to title it "Self Portrait with Heads from March 21st issue of Entertainment Weekly, Coincidentally the Artist's Sister's 33rd Birthday".

I like long titles.

T-Shirt Shout-Out

2008-04-09T09:01:00.000-04:00

I'm loving this t-shirt by Design By Humans.

It's Done!

2008-04-02T09:49:00.000-04:00

Finally, another illustration. I'll post my sketch for the next idea soon! Also, some information:

"The Shop presents Unique Art Auction in humanitarian effort Local artists will donate work for showcase event. In an effort to contribute aid and draw attention to hardships in Darfur, Africa, The Shop Salon will be hosting a unique art show. Local professional artists are graciously donating a wonderful array of artwork to be sold at a silent auction during this worthwhile event. Everyone is invited to attend!

TIME/PLACE: 6 PM to 11 PM; April 6 2008
LOCATION: The Shop, 8231 Woodmont Avenue, downtown Bethesda
Beverages and appetizers

A minimum donation of $10.00 per person (entry fee)

PROCEEDS from the cover charge and art sales WILL BE DONATED
to the SaveDarfur fund to help with humanitarian aid efforts in the Sudan.
PLEASE JOIN US AND HELP!

Proceeds will go to SaveDarfur.
www.savedarfur.org
www.one.org

www.theshopsalon.com"

Almost Done!

2008-03-31T15:02:00.000-04:00

Wee!

Potent Quotables: McNuggetini

2008-03-28T10:20:00.001-04:00

I: That is so gross.
Lizzy: Just the combination of bbq sauce and milkshake alone would turn me away

I: but then add a mcnugget and vanilla vodka??

Lizzy: seems like it would just be the equivalent of drinking what usually ends up in the toilet after a long night of drinking

First Finished Drawing in... I can't even Remember.

2008-03-27T13:59:00.000-04:00

This is a pastel I've been working on for a charity benefit for Save Darfur. I'll post the finished piece on here, as well as pictures from the event, I imagine. I credit them for getting me back into the handmade arts. I needed a push to start again.

To explain the piece, I wanted to focus on the beauty of the Sudan rather than the pain, since, someday, with any hope, there will be happiness there again. The vine like flowers around her are... the scientific name is Utriculara inflexica, and for some peculiar reason I can't find the real name of them... anyone know a botanist?

Fo' giggles

2008-03-25T13:14:00.000-04:00

This makes me laugh hysterically every time I see it. Period.

Think of what he could of done with a dodo egg.

2008-03-25T09:04:00.000-04:00

Click here and here to check out the work of Slovenian artist Frank Grom. He drills holes in eggs! Crazy patience.

High School Memories

2008-03-21T09:58:00.000-04:00

Michael K at Dlisted does a hot slut of the day post every day, and today was Trent from Daria. It bought me back... In high school I had this handmade sketchbook I had to make for my art class, and I remembered I did a drawing of him:

And its not just, like, a random little doodle... its a freakin' detailed drawing with like crosshatching and sh*t. Talk about a depressing adolescence.

In other news, I was a pretty good artist in high school. Eh?

Just Cause

2008-03-20T11:45:00.001-04:00

A Fall Wedding

2008-03-18T10:24:00.000-04:00

I recently gave a friend a really good wedding present: I offered to design her wedding invitations for free. It's a great portfolio builder and it helps keep me sane cause the jobs at work right now are boring. Here are the three ideas I presented to the happy couple:

1. Basic Folded
In case you didn't notice, her wedding is going to be in the fall. The wedding is fall themed, so I tried to reflect this in the coloring and decorative flourishes.

2. Swash and Leaf- 've always wanted to use a swash font for something, and since I work in museums, they frown on them case they're not readible to younger folk, disabled folk, and the elderly. But for weddings you can be foofy foofy, so I went with Caslon Swash. I love these envelopes, and if anyone can find them on the cheap I'd really like to know where I could get a bunch. The envelope is binded with a wrinkled paper ribbon that I found really nice. The paper is this really awesome watercolor paper with ripped edges which gave it a natural look.

3. 12 Leaf
12 leaves, and their wedding is in October. Do you get it?

This is the one they went for. There will be some color changes, and like a reply card, directions, all that good stuff. So when I get the final thing together there will be a delightful post on that. I like how the line on the actual invite mirrors the ribbon on the envelope. I'm trying to figure out how to mail all that with the ribbon on the envelope. More on that later.
Cheers!

Trio of Eew

2008-03-17T12:01:00.000-04:00

I: Whoa did you read about the new Jim McGreevy thing?
(20 seconds pass)
Loree: That is so a Lifetime movie in the making.
I: blech.

Titillating Tutorials

2008-03-11T16:30:00.000-04:00

Interesting new photoshop tutorial... shows you how to make those glowing lines and etherial firefly dots. Pretty nifty. This is my first go at it. Took about 20 minutes. Not bad... Can't wait to use it for something :)