New Artwork: The Wish

Here's my latest Edwardian inspired illustration, "The Wish".

As a kid I lived on a small farm where we had fields of dandelions, I couldn't help myself making wishes and then blowing the seeds into the wind. I have a pretty amazing life, I guess my wishes did come true!

I have to wonder, do kids still do this?

I am also absolutely in love with the beautiful white lawn dresses the girls wore in the early 1900's and loved being able to include one in my drawings.

Debra Styer, The Wish, 2014

If you want to check out some amazing lawn dresses, I highly recommend checking out one of my all time favorite films, Peter Weir's 1975 masterpiece, A Picnic at Hanging Rock.

First of all, the film takes place in 1900, and the sets and costumes design are amazing. Secondly, it is based on a true story that blends a perfect amount of of mystery and spookiness. It is truly a breathtaking film to watch...

"The Wish" is now available in the Shop!

New Work, Meet the Beetle Boy

It's the new year and I have plenty of brand spanking new ideas flowing around in my head. This year I want to work on a children's book. Something for the tomboy in all of us. I grew up spending my days walking in the woods and discovering all the cool creepy crawly things. I've already created one character for the book Abby, The Moth Girl.  Now, I wanted to introduce to my newest illustration and character, George, The Beetle Boy.

Pretty cute, huh? It's so fun to sit here dreaming up all the adventures that Beetle Boy and Moth Girl will get in. Woo Hoo!  I'm so excited to start another project. Of course, I'm still finishing up the other book but I'm going to let this I love just thinking about it.

Also, if you are interested, George, The Beetle Boy is available in the shop!

Hope you like him!

The Art of the Autochrome...Part 2

I really love the colors of a good Autochrome.  I know that the colors aren't real but they certainly fit a certain mood.  Autochromes were created in 1903 by the Lumiere Brothers in France and marketed in 1907 to the rest of the world. There were a lot of incredible photos taken with this technology but by the 1930's it was dated and people went on to color film.

Here are some of the beautiful autochromes that are inspiring me today...

Arnold Genthe, Lady of the Sea, c. 1910

Gabriel Veyre - Casablanca  - 1908

Lumiere Bros, Woman in A Colorful Costume c. 1912

Georges Chevalier,Angle de la rue Lepic et de la rue Puget, en bas de Montmartre, 1914

Alfonse Van Besten, Two Girls Picking Cornflowers, 1912

Arnold Genthe, Nude Study, c. 1920's

Richard Sullivan, Charlie Chaplin, 1915

Photographer Unknown,Woman in Pink Dress Sitting in Chair Holding Roses, 1915 via George Eastman

Alfonse Van Besten ~Modesty c. 1912

Charles Corbet, Young Lady with a Fan on Couch, 1910

Charles Corbet, Melancholia, c. 1910

Do you have any favorite old technology's you wish would come back in style?

Want to see more? Here's the link to my original post, "Art of the Autochrome" .