Design & Beyond

[geraldelariviera]

Pride Parade 2017, NYC

June it’s Pride month in the USA so I decided to celebrate in style. Since I’m an aspiring young diva for my parade look I took inspiration from one of the biggest divas there is Miss Grace Kelly. I imagined myself as Grace driving from her summer cottage on acid. This meant taking the 50′s silhouette but saturating the color palette enough to create that trippy 60′s feeling. 

I was happy to see people were really resonating with this outfit, but not to the level of being stop in the middle of 23 St by “The Man Repeller” (Fashion Blog). They were taking photographs for an article about the Parade, and to my surprised I was one of those folks they featured. Needless to say I was trying to remain cool and collected but failed miserably... Luckily the photographer was able to get a “Cool Dude Smirk” out of me.  

I loveee the final image and it’s been really fun (and strange) to get all these random links from friends and acquaintances were they’ve stumble with my photo. Fame hasn’t change me yet, and the lord knows I am no Grace Kelly, but I did enjoyed for a brief hour my C list celebrity status.

Here’s the link to the article:

http://www.manrepeller.com/2017/06/nyc-pride-parade-2017.html?utm_content=buffereeb94&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

xx,

Gerald

[geraldelariviera]

Dream Room 

Free hand drawing of what the room of my dreams looks like, and yes that includes a light that changes all the colors of everything in the room. 

xx, 

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Kinky Boots

I’m feeling the inspiration juices, what an odd thing to say... 

xx, 

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Experimentation Era

Last post was dense, so I’m making a new one! I wanted to talk a bit of this new style I’m using. For me and I’m sure many other who enjoy illustration, is always been difficult to get the same feel of pencil while illustrating on my computer. Is just not the same, and I do use a wacom but still there’s a warmth missing from my pencil doodles. 

So lately I decided to experiment a little bit with the different brushes that Photoshop has to offer. I was happy to find that they are a few of them who do have that sketchy quality that I love, is just a matter of how big or small are you using them and the type of movement. This style I’m trying to focus a lot more in the line work than anything else, and the results are very cute. I want to explore more, and see what feels good for me :) I guess you could say I’m in a quest to find my illustration style. 

I’ll be posting more of this look, other looks possibly, I’m just having fun with it, not really caring about the end result but the technique. 

Photos courtesy of Tokyo Fashion Street:

http://tokyofashion.com/photos/

xx,

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Hello, hello

It’s been a while since the last time I posted anything, quite frankly I been taking time for myself. After graduation a lot came into my plate too soon, finding a job, a relatively affordable room in NYC, maintaining a long distance relationship... it took a lot from me emotionally, and it’s still sinking in. 

Last week I had sort of an epiphany, I thought you needed to be at least 30 to get one of those. I was on the train and I began to think about the way I have been treating others and myself for this 23 years. A wave of anxiety washed over me during this train ride, I did not like the person I was becoming, the character I had created, especially since I moved to NYC. If you’ve ever gotten an anxiety attack you know it feels like a mental hurricane, it’s very hard to think clearly when all these thoughts are trying to get your body to shut down. In the eye of the hurricane, so to speak, I saw something clear: love is not dependency, love is kind and free. 

This idea of love as a dependency made me think of Nan Goldin’s “Ballad of Sexual Dependency,” which is a photo journey about New York youth scene during the 70s-80s. The photos are quite raw and wild to be honest, yet relatable and intimate. So a few days ago I run into a photo from Germany’s biggest sex convention, and found the image I based this illustration from. I thought these two things (Nan’s title + Image) are sort of a literal representation of my latest revelation (for lack of a less dramatic word).  

I’m not sure what life is going to be like for me, but I am taking this episode as a passover from one chapter to another. I accept that change is good, and I’m willing to let things that are hurtful, to me and others, go in order to live a more honest life. 

Links:

Vice: Future of Sex Dolls 

http://www.vice.com/read/venus-berlin-2016-martina-cirese-photos

Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

http://aperture.org/shop/nan-goldin-ballad/

xx, 

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Flower Gifs + Saturday

It is the Spring let us have some downtime, enjoy the flowers and most importantly remember to breath. 

ps:  I’ll leave the link here so you can see them as GIFS, for some reason I couldn’t get them to work on Tumblr. Each has 40 frames, maybe that’s why, if you know how to fix this problem please let me know!

https://plus.google.com/u/0/110794585545639195691/posts/eogwkniFUmu?pid=6292346404852724946&oid=110794585545639195691

xx,

Gerald.

[geraldelariviera]

Currently looking for an intern who wants to finish my thesis

I know I haven't really been good updating you guys with my thesis project but! i have no excuse haha is just lack of time. I had no idea this project was going to be as big when I chose this topic. So here I am trying to get my act together while loosing all the strength for it in the middle... Don’t get me wrong, this is something I am passionate about but I am also passionate about ice cream and you don’t see me eating it everyday. 

It’s been a tiring journey, we’re literally three weeks away to the trade show which Im super excited for. I have so many ideas for my little station but the amount of time is too short to accomplish everything in my mind. The big question mark on my head right now is how am i going to finish four books in two weeks, I’m going to need an intern for this. I feel like all the inspiration I have left is getting squeeze out of my body, I cannot longer create another composite without feeling some kind of pain. 

How dramatic I can get, I know, but it makes life a bit more interesting. 

Probably next time I post is going to be more in depth material of the main art book, or probable some of the images I took for the booklet. I’m still wondering, or maybe I’ll surprise you with photos of me crying that’s fun too. 

+ The image on top is from my 80s chapter, something I put together to see if it worked, deadz.

xx, 

Gerald.

[geraldelariviera]

Paper dolls for the thesis 

I’m currently working on my thesis, is a book and it has to do with women and how they relate to fashion throughout time. One of my chapters is women’s occupations through the decades, and I am doing paper dolls to represent each of the jobs. The only thing I know how to draw are heads though, so I’m not sure how I’m doing these bodies. I was thinking in just put a long rectangle and make a “feminist” statement about the female body, but I’m not sure how that’d work out. The first row of heads represent the 00s, the second the first is 50s, the second is 90s, the third is me. The third row is all of my 30s ladies and the fourth row is my 80s lady. 

This is probably they only time I’ve talk about my thesis, I did not explained in detail but I will show you my progress till the final result. 

Let me know what do you think of the subject in general, or the illustrations. 

xx, 

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

How nostalgic is going through old folders.

I am taking a Portfolio class in my last semester in school. By this point I already know which fonts to use for which feel, what colors are my colors (pink and navy), and how the overall image is going to look like even before starting. Of course, that’s is not always the case but I am less drawn to do more “experimentation.” Like there is some sort of formula right now, or I’m starting to sense a pattern in the way I design. I’m not sure if it has to do with just designing things that are for my “designer persona” at the moment but God I miss the excitement. 

I used to give this passionate speeches about the importance of design and beauty, I was so very much in love, very naive. I think the initial experimenting lead me to this moment of clarity when designing. However, I miss that little girl with a computer, now I’m more like an angsty teenager designing. I love “bad design” and feminist art is more compelling than doing an advertisement for a fake clothing company. 

Dude, I know this is evolution and some people would be happy to kinda find a style or having people recognize one of your pieces. But I want more, I want the excitement, the tears (and I get lots of those), the rage. I am such a teen, omg.

deadx deadxxxx I'm too fem to live in this plane of existence. 

I love you all,

sorry for the rant,

xx,

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Back to school + Reflections

Is that time of the year again, where I go back to school and drown myself in work and projects. Break is officially over, and is work mood on. This is my last semester in undergrads, and I am feeling a bit nostalgic already. I cannot believe is been 4 years, time really passes by quick. I still feel as lost as my freshman year, the only thing that has changed is the color of my hair. Actually, i have seen a maturity in my work or mindset. 

Design as a freshman was trying to prove to others that I was good, and my work was “cool and edgy.” Now as a senior, I care less about the shell, and more about content. Do not get me wrong, I still believe and have high aesthetic standards, but is different. In my mind, design can be use to serve a bigger purpose. For instance, to assist science or politics, anything else than just exist to be a beautiful vessel. 

I love to design, but is a painful job; I am constantly getting hurt by my own perception of “good design.” However, I know I was born to do art, I have always felt it; is a light that never goes out (kudos if you got the pun). 

Anyways, I want to welcome you to join me in this exciting journey of last semester. I will try my best to keep you updated with my projects, and show you some progress on my thesis, which I am excited and scared of. 

xx,

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Tuesday’s Outfits 2015

You are probably wondering why only Tuesday’s outfits, what is so special about Tuesdays? To be honest is my least favorite day, some hate Mondays, but I am a huge Tuesday hater. So why Gerald, why? The reason is less philosophical than you might think. 

Each Tuesday I used to take a class (Youth Culture) with a professor that I am really fond of, so I dressed extra nice those days. What started as a silly quest, became a tradition to me. After that I landed a freelance job, which I was only required to be at the office on Tuesdays. It worked out perfectly, I was able to keep the outfits going for a little more.

I do not own a lot of clothes, but I do at the same time (#GuiltyOfCharge). I was trying hard not to repeat full outfits, but to create from basic pieces different alternatives. As you can tell I only repeat it one full outfit during June-Oct period.

Here are the clothes statistics of each Tuesday from the months of June till beginning of October 2015. 

White shirt = 3 times

Navy trousers = 3 times

Boyfriend jeans = 2 times

Jean dungaree = 2 times

Olive dress = 2 times

I stopped doing it because of laziness actually, but I was planning to keep going. Is something that I enjoy doing, and I am a big supporter of personal style vs fashion. 

Let me know which outfit do you guys like or dislike? Can you see other good outfit combination from my poor drawings? 

xx,

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Sunday Afternoon Mood.

1. Is 4:01 pm and I’m still in bed. It was suppose to be a productive Sunday.

2. Why can days be days and leave it at that? Must we always set goal for each of them? ///

+ Artwork by: Ben Zak 

http://benzank.tumblr.com

3. My mind can get somehow strangle when I forced for inspiration.

4. The best solution for Sunday’s like these are walks to nowhere. Put the jams on, and let the body wobble around. 

+ I recommend: 

Mildred Bailey - A Cigarette and a Silhouette:

https://youtu.be/RDUfPxTqrDg

Remain calm,

xx,

Gerald.

[geraldelariviera]

Typexperiment + Fleet Foxes

As you guys know I’ve spent my winter break experimenting with design and typography (not the experimenting you had in mind). 

This one was really fun to do actually. I took a quote from “Lorelai” from Fleet Foxes: “I was old news to you then...”  printed it out, gave it a little shake, shake, then scanned it with the paper folds. After the scan, I vectorized the folded type, and added some movement to it. 

The whole process took about 2 hours, and I loved the final result. An inexpensive way to do a cool, all typography, design. You can easily implement this technique in your own projects, also get boss points by not buying type. 

If you have any questions about the process, or anything else, shoot me a message. 

xx, 

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Assemblage + Dancers gif

Lately I have been obsess with gifs, you can catch me asking people to repite a movement so I can make a little gif of it. I am using a really cool app, is from the people of VSCO cam (the photo editing app). Their gif counterpart is DSCO, FYI, you have to have a VSCO account to have DSCO. 

I’ll leave you guys the links to my online account so you can see the gifs I been creating, and for you to download the app as well. 

This is my VSCO/ DSCO account: 

+ http://vsco.co/bambi-vixxxen/grid/1

Download VSCO:

+ http://vsco.co

Download DSCO:

+ http://vsco.co/dsco/collection/1

Those are only the gifs I have been making with my phone, I’ve been playing around with little quirky gifs in my computer as well. Is pretty basic as you can tell, appearing and disappearing objects. For the dancers one on this post I was more concern about composition. When I found this image on a google search (is not mine, pls do not sue me) I instantly fell in love, and I thought damn this could really use some sparkles. 

This type of composition where I am mixing and matching images and elements from different places is what is called an assemblage (in loose words). I injected a bit of sparks, waves, internet, and magic to the dancers image. For it to be a quick experiment I was very satisfy with the end result. It was fun to play around the body parts, and textures. 

I’m thinking about creating extra gifs like this one, but with more complex movements. 

Any comments, questions, concerns, likes or dislikes? Let me know if this falls under the dope spectrum? (That’s a cool hashtag #DopeSpectrum)

xx, 

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Lighting + Dream

I am very fond of lighting and lamps, and that is an understatement. I am the kind of person who uses the iphone’s flash light in a dark room, and scan each of my fingers with the light. There’s something almost religious about it, I guess the feeling of being touch by lighting is itself a religious experience.

You get the point, anyways, I have a recurring dream, where the main story line is that light, meaning any source of lighting, falls in love with a girl. All the action happens in a stage, so it is a play. And the scenes are so incredibly stunning, I wish I could literary pull them out of my head and show you. It includes a lot of projection mapping*, and theatrical light staging. 

There is one scene that struck me, is when the lighting is showing its love to the girl. She is resting in bed, and there’s a projector right above her, where the light goes from the top of her head to her feet. Is scanning her, which is its way to touch her. And is this beautiful red light in a dark room; the light creates a counter drawing of her body, on top of her silhouette. It moves so organically, and when she is changing positions in bed, the light follows her and draws different kinds of curves onto her body. 

I’d like to take the dream to the offline world, is within my life plans. #PutItInTheBucketList

Do you guys ever dream about any object? what a weird question, but I am a curious girl.  

+ By the way, I took these images at the Moma. 

* Projection mapping: Is when light is projected onto any surface instead of a flat screen.

xx, 

Gerald. 

[geraldelariviera]

Going to bed mood.

1. Get on that satin rope and listen to a record that makes you swoon.

2. I’ll choose: 

Gwen Stefani - “Cool”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGwZ7MNtBFU

3. While in bed remember that old love that once meant everything. A love like: 

“Pierrot Le Fou”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycg2yb3qiUo

4. “Someday death will take us to another star” - Van Gogh

+ Artwork by: David Hockney

Nighty, night pretty.

xx,

Gerald.

[geraldelariviera]

Things to say + What do I say

You ever felt like you should of say something different in “x” situation? Maybe be quicker on your toes, have a better comeback, or a deeper answer. I think is safe to say we all been there. Wishing to have thought of something better to respond. But, real life conversations can throw us hard balls. Is hard to pretend you know who Schumann is without google by your side #beenthere #whoisschumannagain

I always been curious about how other person would have respond to some of the situations I have encounter. Would they have answer the same way? This is how “Things to say” borns, out of the necessity or curiosity I have to understand human interactions. I would like to know if we are more similar than we like to think so. Or maybe we’re not, that’s cool too. 

I was thinking in printing a bunch of scenarios, and creating an email where I can collect the answers from everyone. Then putting them in a space where people can see what others would say. You can either send me your scenario, or answer to the one I already put out. 

Feel free to answer the ones I already have in this post. You can do it by number, being the Ikea one #1. 

How do you guys feel about the project? Too blend or maybe too sick? 

xx,

Gerald.