Posts Tagged ‘NYC’

More Guest-Teaching At The Fashion Class!

Tuesday, August 21st, 2012

Chatting about illustration techniques at The Fashion Class, August 15th, 2012

I was in the middle of getting a pedicure when I got an email from Kerri at The Fashion Class. She was wondering if I’d be up for guest-teaching her teen students before their summer session was complete. Of course! I had such a great time the first time I taught a class in March, so I was psyched to be asked to return.

While I had a blast the first time around with the younger kids, this class was even more rewarding- I was helping out high school girls who were totally into fashion & working on their portfolios to get into school! I remember way back when I was doing the same thing to get into F.I.T., so I was more than happy to help out.

I covered some Fashion Illustration basics to help the girls with their drawings & designs. Their enthusiasm to learn was awesome- love it! I chatted about proportion, how to create movement in drawings, attitude, sketching faces & clothing and the importance of knowing anatomy to make drawings look believable & come to life.

I’m not so much of a “stand in front of the class & teach” kind of person, so we all sat around the table chatting & drawing, looking at my portfolio pieces for reference & proportion, checking out the girls’ sketchbooks & helping them out when they had questions & wanted advice. The hour & a half went by in two seconds, I swear! I was also psyched that they had all seen my illustrations up at Mood on one of their many field trips around the city.

All in all, a super fun & educational day. I look forward to next time & I wish the girls the best of luck with their fashion dreams!

Check out The Fashion Class & sign up for their programs. Their new space on 39th Street in the heart of the fashion district is bright, airy & energetic! Totally inspiring. xoxo

 

 

 

Kenzo “Flower Tag” Fragrance Launch Party at Bloomingdale’s!

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

Live-sketching Kenzo customers at Bloomingdale’s, NYC

‘Flower Tag’ Invitation

A few weeks ago I was contacted by MANHATTAN Magazine’s Brandon Grant. He inquired if I would be interested in sketching customers & guests for KENZO’s Flower Tag Fragrance Launch party. Yes, yes and yes! We started with the Flower Tag Illustration, a pretty, poppy & peppy gal used on the party invitation & in-store displays.

I arrived at Bloomingdale’s last night & was immediately greeted by a gorgeous garden of poppies, as well as Brandon & the sweet staff of MANHATTAN Magazine. I started sketching right away, which is always a blast! I get to meet the most awesome people at events like this & they get to take home a personalized sketch by me. Yay!

Here’s what MANHATTAN had to say about the event:

Kenzo and MANHATTAN magazine hosted a social gathering to celebrate the launch of the new Flower Tag fragrance. Fashion Illustrator Jennifer Lilya was on hand, creating beautiful portraits for guests who purchased a fragrance. The event supported Dress For Success’ Young Executives of Success organization.

Thanks to everyone for a ridiculously fun night of sketching while surrounded by great people & the delicious scent of Flower Tag! Looking forward to more live-sketching & parties!

Please check out MANHATTAN Magazine & KENZO for luxurious info & luxurious scents! xoxo

 

She’s The Queen Of The “Cool Turq”!

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

She's The Queen Of The "Cool Turq"!

I had a free night of painting on Saturday, which is a rarity these days. Summer is filled with client work and lots & lots of playtime camping & hanging out at the beach-so I took advantage of my night off to loosen up & get back into the groove of painting after being away in Aruba. While I LOVE my vacations and fun time, I couldn’t wait to get back & start creating again! I put on some of my favorite dance music (The Go-Gos!) and went to town on my quickies- gestural expressions that take only a minute or two to complete. They get to the heart of the look with just a few lines & a whole lot of attitude- definitely one of my favorite things to do! xoxo

Sketching Stila Girls!

Monday, May 7th, 2012

Sketching Stila Girls at Sephora Fifth Avenue

What a fun weekend! I spent the last three days sketching up a storm at different Sephora locations around NYC. I first worked with Stila back in September for Fashion’s Night Out, and I have to say they are a dream to work with! Sarah Lucero, Stila’s global creative director & celebrity make up artist, was in town for makeover consultations, so I was asked to sketch personalized Stila Girls for her customers. Sarah’s so amazing at what she does- flawless makeup that makes everyone look & feel beautiful. Not to mention, she & the awesomely talented team of Stila Artists are sweet as pie and a blast to be around!

I ended up sketching hundreds of Stila Girls (and Guys!) over the course of the weekend. It’s so much fun to give the customers a personalized sketch of themselves after they’re finished getting all dolled up. It makes me so happy to make other people happy with my art. Thanks to Stila and everyone who came out to see me! Can’t wait for the next one! xoxo

New Interview On “Birdee And The Beat!”

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Yelp Live Sketching Event, December 2011. Photo by Champion Hamilton.

I was contacted by the lovely & talented Birdee Bow in early March (I know, I know…how behind on updating am I?!?) asking if I’d be up for doing an interview for her blog, Birdee And The Beat. From the look and content of it, as well as her cool casualness, of course I said yes.

And I was quite happy I did- she asked me some really fun and different questions, and I think it came out great! You can check out the interview & some new pix here! Thanks, Birdee! xo

Daily Lilya in ‘Daily Brooklyn’ by Hilary McHone

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Painting in my Bushwick studio, April 3, 2012. Photo by Hilary McHone.

I met the super sweet & talented photographer, Hilary McHone, through the ‘Work It Brooklyn’ Facebook page. She was looking for Brooklyn-based artists to photograph for a new project. Sign me up!

She came by my studio at my personal prime-time: 8am (Yay for Early Birds!) and spent a few hours taking pix of me working from all sorts of angles. We chatted about work, travel, Brooklyn and all sorts of fun stuff. I normally hate being disturbed while I’m painting, but Hilary’s a total pro who made it easy for me to work while she was.

Anyway, check out the Daily Brooklyn post for fun studio shots of what I do almost every day. Love my job & love meeting like-minded artistic Brooklynites! xo

Back In Black! “Leather Lover” Jean Paul Gaultier F/W 2012

Friday, April 20th, 2012

"Leather Lover" Jean Paul Gaultier F/W 2012

I first remember seeing Jean Paul Gaultier in Details magazine sometime in the mid-80s. I fell in love with his look & designs. This was the fantastic and better Details of NYC art & fashion- not the men’s mag it changed into long ago. Anyhow, Gaultier has rocked my senses since I was a teen, so I felt like painting this look from the recent Fall collection- it’s something I’d wear from head to platformed-toe. It’s so neat to think about what caught my eye then and how it still inspires me now. Go Go Gaultier! xo

Guest Teaching At The Fashion Class!

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Teaching a young student different acrylic techniques.

A while back I was contacted by Kerri Quigley, founder & instructor of The Fashion Class, asking if I was interested in doing a guest teaching spot one afternoon. Totally! All of the students are interested in fashion on some level, so that rocks. Since I love acrylic paint & all of its many uses, I decided to teach the girls some fun techniques to work with. I spent the afternoon prior to the class creating black & white illustration templates for them to paint on directly…their own personal fashion coloring pages. That’s way more fun than a blank piece of paper. Since the class is only an hour, I settled on five techniques: Wet paper, Thick Acrylic, Acrylic as Watercolor, Dry Brush & Splatter Effect- those last two were definite faves! I had a blast teaching & the girls had a blast learning new ways to be creative. Win/Win! I’ll definitely be back at some point to teach them more art. I’ll keep you posted when that happens, and in the meantime, check out all the cool programs The Fashion Class has to offer! xoxo

New Lilya Interview On Beirux.com!

Thursday, March 8th, 2012
Knitting Factory

"Knitting Factory", Rachel Zoe F/W 2012

And also an illustration of one of my favorite Fall 2012 looks by Rachel Zoe. :) Hamid from Beirux.com contacted me in January to do an interview for his site…but between the 120 illustrations Edelman job, an unexpected studio move, then unpacking & setting up my new studio…well, I finally had a little free time to answer his questions! Thanks for being so patient, Hamid! So please check out the interview here and a little video hello from my studio here! Thanks for all the love! xoxo