Play with me

My cat Maggie loves playing with tin foil balls. This one is painted in sparkly silver gouache in real life, it's a shame the scanner can't show that. Happy Caturday!

January light

Spending saturday afternoon in the studio with the company of Maggie and the most beautiful light. She's not the best behaved photography assistant, though :)

Lately on Instagram

Some recent photos from my Instagram acccount:

1. Birthday sushi dinner 2. I got tickets to see Rafa Nadal play as a birthday gift 3. A nice cup of coffee 4. Maggie, always in a box 5. My new polkadot sweatshirt from Zara Kids 6. I was cooking this and a face appeared when I poured the vinegar on the pan 7. Painting with snoopy 8. Roasted broccoli and shrimp for lunch

Discrepancies

I just came back from a relaxing week at the beach and found some very exciting things on my mailbox that I'll be sharing here soon. Meanwhile, here's a small gouache I made of my kitty Maggie while I was away. Also, just a reminder but Google Reader is closing today, so if you want to keep getting updates from my blog, you can follow me on Facebook, Blogloving or via RSS (links on the right).

Oh! And my friend Jennifer is running a kickstarter for a short film named "Teeth", and there are only four days to reach the $7.000 goal. I've read the script and the film is going to be awesome, so please, consider donating (the minimum is only $5) or spread the word. Thanks!!

Lately on instagram

1. Maggie on her classic pose this morning 2. Iced tea with pretty teal straw 3. Massamam curry with eggplant, chicken, carrots, onions and cashew nuts 4. A haircut for summer 5. Gouache painting 6. Freckles! 7. Maggie on my drawing table 8. The freakiest double banana (It was yummy, though)

And that last instagram inspired me to draw this little silly gouache on my sketchbook. Long live the banana twins!

Around the studio

This week's been all about a new exciting job, bad weather and cozy cats. I finally splurged and bought a Wacom Cintiq 13HD, and spent tome time making a DIY stand / protective cover for it. It helps me have a better posture while working, and I can slide the tablet underneath when I'm not using it to avoid Maggie using it as a napping spot. She's definitely more comfy on a rumpled mohair blanket while there are thunderstorms outside.

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Random film photos

I finally scanned my latest roll of film. It's always fun to find these random photos I've taken in the studio and had completely forgotten about. In the third one, my drawing board had already arrived from the UK and Maggie decided it was a good place to sit like a lady. Then she had to make up for it with her silly signature box pose. She just loves having her picture taken, can you tell? :D

Lately

Last week I turned 32 and I celebrated it splurging on the most beautiful shoes ever, the Nesbit Oxford from Samantha Pleet's collection for Wolverine 1000 Mile. I had been lusting over these shoes since I saw the lookbook on Miss Moss back in May, and finally I took the decision to purchase them. I must say I don't regret it, they're gorgeous and super comfy, with the perfect heel height. And the people at Frances May were super helpful finding the perfect size. Now, if only it would cool down a bit around here so I could wear this instead of sandals...

Also, despite being so busy working on the new book, I've managed to finish knitting this cardigan in a cashmere and alpaca blend. Again, I'm longing for fall badly!

And last, a totally gratuituous photo of Maggie in her favorite box, in her signature pose. It cracks me up everytime I see her like this!

Vacation

I got my film from vacation developed, these were shot with my Contax 139Q and Konica Centuria film. They make me miss the beach and the endless summer days spent with my loved ones. And the food, of course!!

This year we took Maggie on vacation with us and it was a great experience. The car trip and the first couple of days were rough (she spent them under the sofa mostly) but as soon as she got used to the apartment, she became the happiest kitty ever! She had lots of new places to explore, sunny balconies and open windows, birds, bugs and the lovely, humid seaside air. When we came back home and she realized vacation was over, she was more depressed than us...

Good morning

I hope you have a great week! :)

Djeco 2012 catalog

I just got the Djeco "Design by" catalog for 2012, with the project I made with them inside. I still haven't seen the final product myself, and can't show you most of the details, but you can see a sneak peek of how it will look on the second photo. I'm very excited to see this finally.

Also, some random photos of new yarn for a fair-isle project, and Maggie being chill next to one of my favorite artworks at home, the "Cat Moves" poster by Lucy Knisley. It never fails to make me laugh everytime I see it, I think that her ginger cat and mine are so much alike!

Maggie with the Draculas

I've been scanning the shots from the first roll with my new camera, the Olympus MJU II. I got some pretty nice results even though the Agfa Vista film I used was very expired. This is Maggie posing in front of my favorite artwork at home, this print by Scott C in its new awesome blood-red frame. I never get tired of looking at this illustration.

Also, I forgot to mention that this ginger lady and I were featured in the lovely blog We Say Meow. Thank you, Anke!

Two books and a spy

This week I got copies of a book with one of my illustrations on the cover, the second part of "Brigitte des Colères", and I'm currently working on the cover for the third volume. I also forgot to take photos of my illustration on the Morran book, that you can still buy at Blurb. As usual, Maggie likes to hide behind my computer and watch closely at everything I do.

Lately on Instagram

Remember, you can find me on Instagram as juliabe

Around the house

Maggie loves boxes, as you can see.

Hello!

And welcome to my new blog! After three years blogging on Tumblr, I've finally decided to open a new, let's say "real" blog. Lately I've been feeling that I need a space to talk about my work in a more personal, organized way... and where it's also easier to be in touch with my readers. But I'm still in doubt wether to keep this blog in english, or make it bilingual in spanish. Let me know your thoughts about this, please :D

Besides of talking about freelance ilustration, I'll be blogging about other things I love like photography, art, cinema, knitting... and of course, kittens! And no, this doesn't mean I'll stop using tumblr, I love it too much to let it go. I'll still keep it as some sort of scrapbook. Well, here we go!!!!