Brought to you By...

Here are a few pics from the weekend... brought to you by "Hipstamatic"-- the new, pretty addictive photo app I downloaded for my iphone last week. Just to warn you, you'll proooobably be seeing a lot more Hipstamatic photos gracing this blog : )





They're a lot better at crazy faces than I am .



I got to spend a lot of time with my sister this weekend...always a plus : )



Urban Outfitters...yay : )



a little thrifting at Red Polly



She looks like such a glamorous rock star in this one (which she is, of course)...but I'm pretty sure we were discussing office supply organization and the intricacies of ikea shelving assembly... very non-glamorous stuff. : )

Hope your week gets off to a great start!!

Arian

Josh Garrels!

"Josh Garrels!" is exactly what I named the folder on my desktop where I've been storing the art files for this show poster because we love Josh Garrels music and I'm was so happy to get this gig!! If you're anywhere near Portland, Oregon you should go to this show on our behalf ; )

Annnd we've got secret plans to work with him on a BIGGER project toward the end of this year which will be AWESOME!
Daniel and I had such a sweet date today--- the "coffee shop/sketchbook" date is our FAV and we came home feeling so inspired! LOTS of good stuff on the horizon--- t-shirts, music videos, more art. YAY!!

Have a great weekend!
Arian : )

Conditions Are Perfect

I love rainy days. Not sure why. But they always make me feel more creative. And I don't feel guilty slowing down a bit on a rainy day, just staying at home being cozy with the boys and my sketchbook and good music. Speaking of, just downloaded the new Sky Sailing album. I love it. Adam Young music makes me want to frolic barefoot in open fields, cut out strands of paper hearts, and drink cocoa while day dreaming about butterflies and puppies : ) : ) : )

(a little container gardening)
(the view from the back door)

And here's a little sneak peek at a show poster I was working on late last night! I'll hopefully be able to show you the finished product later this week!

Arian : )

AND THE WINNER IS... (and Arian loses her mind)

#20 Mrs. Harmony said...

"I would go to the beach on Maui with a picnic basket full of delicious foods, a big beach blanket and a good book. :)"

So, Mrs. Harmony, please shoot me an email at arianarmstrong(AT)yahoo(DOT)com and let me know where to send your book!

In other news, Daniel is out of town this weekend. My first night alone was pretty awesome, actually. I drank wine, watched a girly movie, listened to music and just laid awake on the bed thinking and dreaming til late into the night. My introverted, internal-processing heart thrives on times like that.

Buuuuut, it's night #2 and I'm starting to go a little crazy. I found myself making faces at myself in the ichat video window. Yep. I'm that cool.

(realizing I have a very limited selection of crazy faces)
(Wondering what I look like cross-eyed....it's not very pretty...think I'll stick to looking straight on)
(missing Daniel)

(Yay! Daniel calls! But then he asks me what I'm doing. And I have to tell him the truth. Then he vows never to leave me at home alone ever again) ; )

Thankfully he'll be back tomorrow.

Arian : )

Book Give-Away!!

I'm heading off to my first ever book signing in Indianapolis, IN in the morning. I'm not sure what to expect. But at very least, it will be a fun day trip!

To celebrate, I'm giving away a signed copy of our book (inside pics here)!! Just leave a comment on this post and let me know where you'd like to go on a day trip! (Then pack a lunch and go there!) I'll randomly select a comment and let you know who the winner is on Saturday!

Behind the Scenes

Hello, hello! Just wanted to show you some of my artwork that went into our recent little Sky Sailing/Owl City video that the Universal Records people hired us to do. The illustrations are a combo of watercolor, ink pen, and Photoshop. All the moving pieces are on separate layers in the Photoshop file so that Daniel could import them into Adobe After Effects and bring them to life! And the music was edited by my talented brother-in-law.


I named the boat "The Seabird".... a little shout out to our friends ; )




And you can't really see it in the video, but I put our initials (Daniel's and mine) in the sand on the beach. Awwww : )



And there have been some questions in the comments on YouTube about the "subliminal messages" in this shot. It's actually the back of an old tobacco sale contract I found at my grandparents' house that's signed by a distant relative. I love incorporating old textures and such into my illustrations : )

Hope you liked this little behind-the-scenes art tour!

Arian : )

Crazy-Talented

I played around editing a few more of the pictures from last week's photo shoot with my crazy-talented musician cousin, Clint. I'm definitely an amateur photographer and don't really know what I am doing but it sure is fun!



Speaking of crazy-talented musicians, if you have two ears and a heart you should know and love and buy Josh Garrels music because it is awesome.





We here in the Armstrong household have been big fans for a while and are super-pumped to start working on merging our art and his music on a fun project in the near future. Can't wait!

- Arian : )