Pleasant News and Pattern Sneak Peeks

Good afternoon, evening, or morning!

Alright, so today I want to start off by sharing some delightful news I have received on the weekend. (Sorry if you already know and are reading about this for the 3rd or 4th time)
What happened was that I had been accepted into our 52nd  Illustration West Competition held by the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles. Seems that my elite and endangered hummingbirds charmed the judges into deciding to include them in the upcoming web exhibition on the Illustration West website on SI-LA.org.
Congratulations to all the other entrants who got accepted, and thank you to everyone who's supported my work. I hope this small victory will be the stepping stone to many great things to come. :)

The Endangered Elite

In other news, a few days ago I created a Facebook page - Mariya Olshevska Illustration - for my illustration work/news. Please follow it for more frequent updates. Thank you in advance!

And now back to sneak peeks of that secretive project I keep mentioning. Being a huge lover of patterns, I couldn't help but create some of my own patterns which I could imagine the characters from the story wearing. I used the patterns found in Japanese wood block prints as my inspirations but I also tried to give them a little bit of a personal flair.

 ©Mariya Olshevska

If you haven't seen too many Japanese prints, I strongly encourage you to get acquainted. They're fantastic! Here's one of my latest favorites:

Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825) Double portrait of the actors Nakayama Tomisaburo and Ichikawa Ichizo, c.1800. Oban

If you're in Vancouver, Canada - I recommend to check out the Ukiyoe Spectacular Japanese Woodblock Prints from the 1800s. It's a two part exhibition on from Jan 10th to March 23rd. Follow {this link} for all the details.

That's it for now!

Song Saturdays

Let's start off the day with an inspirational image:

Monday Morning by =o0oLUXo0o on deviantART

Good morning!

I love music. It's a huge part of my life. It gives me inspiration, keeps me company, elevates my mood, and more! I feel like I owe it to the music I listen to, to showcase it.
In turn, every Saturday (starting now!) I'll be doing a spotlight on 7 tracks from my collection. Hope you check it out and enjoy the songs. If you like them, tell your friends! Spread the great sound!

So, here we go!

Week 1
Theme: "Reconciling the tenses"
I've called the theme as I did because the following songs encourage the recall of various memories from my past and also make me fantasize about the future. For me, they come across as peaceful and soothing songs and also as songs that get me excited and eager to experience what's to come.

1. Greg Laswell - "I'd Be Lying"
2. Trent Dabbs - "Take It All In"
3. Matthew Perryman Jones - "Swallow The Sea"
4. Cary Brothers - "Free Like You Make Me"
5. Sleeperstar - "Fallback"
6. Jason Walker - "Echo"
7. Ourlives - "Anything Can Happen Now"

*Plus a bonus song this week:
8. Trent Dabbs - "Nothing Left to Leave"


Happy Saturday!