By the looks of it

Let me just say that even though I have A LOT of experience with it, I have avoided this subject  cause I don't want to perpetuate a myth of women obsessing about their looks and genuinely feel there is so much more to anyone than the way we look, what we wear or how much we weigh.
But I feel Petra's response over at Indivisualism  to my previous post deserves at least an attempt at debate.
So here is my opinion by points:
1. This one is first by importance as well. I absolutely agree that it's not ok to "notice" or " comment" on someones "skinny-ness" no more than it is about their "fatness", just as it's not ok to judge people for having a food addiction just as it's not ok to judge people for being alcoholics.
2. This is a new thing, but annoying beyond belief. An attempt to be PC about it I guess, this calling bigger women "real women". And every women that is not fat is "stick thin" which is let's be clear a derogatory term. Also assuming that any woman who doesn't struggle with her weight has an eating problem is bullshit too. Fat women is no more or less real than one that is not and all this is just reducing people to objects (I say people, as we .society, not women- do same to men, just over different characteristics). There is about 3 kilos range in which it's OK to be and where people won't find it necessary to "notice" that you're fat or thin.
3. The model that served as a pose for it represents a very popular figure in fashion: it really was a Ukrainian model. Not sure how old, but am guessing not over 25.
Now, I see how someone who gets people huffing at them and hearing wtf comment about how much they eat all the time, can find sentences like "16 year old Ukrainian model" irritating but they are more often than not, a fact, not a figure of speech.
So even though I would huff back at any bitch that would dare to comment on me in the changing rooms (because, that's exactly what she is if she thinks it's ok to do this), the fact of life is that these women have been subjected to a constant campaign of "this is how you're suppose to look" for a very long time and them "hating" and/or ridiculing someone who apparently has what they want is very much a direct result of that and when they say/do that, it is not in any way personal. Petra (or "16 year old Ukrainian model" in my case) only represent an object of resentment.
What I started to resent about these things is that most of clothes that is fashionable at any given moment looks good only on a certain figure. I know, nobody is making me want this clothes, so I can't really complain about this but I find it very strange how we came to accept this like there is something wrong with us and not with the clothes. We get served with an image of very young girls who probably don't look like that themselves and clothes cut to suit them. It's easy to say this comes under personal responsibility, choosing what you'll believe or not, but this isn't quite the case if you consider that we are all literally brainwashed by marketing on a daily basis (and whoever claims they are not influenced by this is in deep denial).
This is a huge subject and I am not sure how would I finish it, so please comment and let me know what do you all think about this?

Dreamgirls

My girls are like dreams. I usually think they have nothing to do with me but it always turns out they are telling much more than I intended to or often even knew. When I start drawing I am usually primarily attracted to the pose. This worries me a little, to be honest, as I do wonder what kind of fashion illustrator isn't attracted to the clothes. I rarely am! I mean there are some stuff out there, Balenciaga and certain couture that attract me and are most certainly pieces of art themselves, but in general I will rarely feel a need to draw clothes. As I don't have any official fashion illustrator education, I am not sure if this is an issue. But poses, even the fashion ones, deliberate and affected as they are, will always communicate an emotion or a state of mind. In that case I am glad that I've at least moved up from sitting poses to the standing ones.
Anyways, enough with the deep s***, don't you just love the girl. I wish I looked as good as this in skinny jeans, but as I am not a 16 year old Ukranian model, no such luck.

Talk about nothing!

Once again I have nothing to say, but this time I won't let that stop me. OH NO! It didn't stop thousands of others who went on and wrote books and recorded songs and painted paintings and expressed nothingness in great detail and with a lot of humor.
So, from now on having nothing to say is not a deal breaker.  Only problem is I will have to fake it until I make it. Soooo... What's up with you? :-)
Here is something... I've noticed recently that I resent some of my self-centered friends when they take all the attention and use me as their little talking box/mirror. But then when the attention turns to me I feel very uncomfortable and switch the roles back as soon as possible. Not sure why am I so uncomfortable with that but definitely love how, once again, it turns out it's never people who make you do something; I chose my role cause it suited me, not because someone pushed me into it. Btw recently I had a lot of these revelations and they are very liberating. Yes, somehow even if you are, excuse my language, deep in shit, when you realize you decided on your own you wanted to go there, it's easier. I guess it's because you understand that if you got yourself there, you can get yourself out as well.
There... I can talk about nothing after all.

p.s. I just realized that this is a good drawing to talk about hair! I can talk about hair for a loooong time. Live and learn I guess.

Emotional experiments

This girl is pure emotion. For some reason I had a lot of trouble getting the right attitude in the pose, and when I finally got it I didn't know where to take her. So I just kept drawing to whatever happens. There is nothing premeditated about her, she is completely spontaneous... almost like you are seeing my current emotional blueprint. Not sure if this is the smartest move but I want to keep posting regularly, without waiting for inspiration or something cool to happen. So, FYI, some posts might go into the WTF!??! territory. Just to give you a heads up...
Now that's settled, tell me what do you think. What do you see in this blueprint? Can you see the recent sadness? Can you see that am very much into doing things? I can see something interesting and that is that the girl has no mouth... unexpressed thoughts? feelings? Both actually. I don't understand the green part even though I was absolutely sure I wanted it there and like that.
Interesting little experiment, today's post.

Funny girl

Is this finished? Am not sure...
Anywaaaays... I was really in a mood for a smiley happy drawing. Which would mean am in a happy smiley state of mind. Which I guess I am... I haven't mentioned it but I started going to improv some time ago. LOVING it! Total brain scrambler at times but so cool. And in general I have been in a goofy mood. I mean my Facebook cover photo is a still from Dumb and Dumber! It could be just down to spring .... Have you seen this cute undies she is wearing. Really wanted to make them anything other but pink, but it fits best, it really does. I should name my blog Maya does pink or All shades of pink are pink haha... not that funny? OK... am rambling. :-)
You know I have a thing with funny. Most of the time I'll try to be funny and don't even notice am doing it until I bomb and time slows down and I try to get out of it and save some remaining ego. But then, I also love it because it's a funny story for later, so KA-CHING on that one. Then I can turn it into meta funny, and that's my favorite. Laughing at myself laughing at myself. Gold I tell 'ya!
Definitely not finished. Oh well!

Sitting, waiting, wishing

That is exactly what I have been doing for the last few months (And to answer your question right away, yes all that time my hair looked as cool as in this illustration. It takes time in the morning, but you'll agree it's worth it! )
What you see is the third illustration I've done on the subject. Two are still unfinished... I had to find the right slumped pose I guess.
What happened is that I just got into a crisis, art wise, and didn't know how to deal with it and just got scared. And then some other stuff happened that required a few extra days of sitting and waiting and wishing.... but as it happens with life, spring came and I realized that whatever I am scared of can't be worse than this limbo I decided to explore. So here I am...
I don't know if this ever happens to you, but definitely not a first for me and am thinking I'll have to find a way to go through periods like this a bit more productive. I really really want to make this post bit more upbeat.... So here is a link to Cute overload and HelloGiggles. Yeah, that's better :-)