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05/10/13 1:00pm

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Waffle-patterned shirts for waffle-lovers

Last Sunday afternoon was bright, crisp, and gorgeous—ideal weather to set out on a quest for Belgian waffles. I’d heard tales of the Wafels & Dinges truck(s) providing delicious Euro goodness topped with a mound of whatever waffley condiment pleases you, but had never actually seen one in the flesh. (Or in the truck? In the metal-and-painted-wood? Language is weird.) My pal Katie and I took a leisurely stroll through Central Park South and spotted our quarry outside the eastern gate. The line was sizeable, proving once again that New Yorkers have top taste in street food, and we settled in to observe our fellow waffle devotees. Lots of tourists stopping for a break before heading to their next museum, but there were some interesting-looking humans in the mix.

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03/20/13 4:41pm

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What does a Parisian look like?

That’s a good question. The Parisian woman is perhaps easier to imagine than her male counterpart: an elegant and independent character somewhere between Catherine Deneuve and Joan of Arc, perhaps running along the waterfront to join her lover, or to buy a bottle of wine just before the shop closes, leaving the subtle scent of Chanel No. 5 in her wake… against an essential backdrop of accordion music of course! She is one of those fleeting, subliminal, fantasized images just waiting to be drawn from our memory banks. In this sense, the Parisienne belongs to our collective consciousness, constantly reconstructed by each individual each time she is imagined.

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03/01/13 11:18am

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Oh, Austin. I spent this past weekend hanging out in the US Capital of Weird with my pals, Untapped Austin contributors Pat and Jackie. It was the best! My last visit was too quick to do much more than scream excitedly at my friends and sample some barbecue before leaving again, but this venture was a little less hurried. This was more appropriate, as Austin doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word “hurry.” I spent an enlightening afternoon biking down South Congress, visiting all the curio shops and marveling at the kitschy designs of all the storefronts and themed restaurants. The amount of attention paid to design and the effort devoted to branding each establishment was cool to see, as well as the cohesion of an entire chunk of the city looking so deliberately “crafted.” I like visual continuity.

I spied this human through the window of a coffee shop (the Hideout, I think) as we were taking a caffeine break on the way to check out the Capitol building. There were definitely a lot of people wearing bright colors (a Texas thing?), but this poofy-haired dude went for a more muted palette. Not that the earthy color choices could do much to downplay the ostentatiousness of the outfit—he looked like a member of a belly-dancing marching band. Then again, it’s Austin… maybe he was. I’m not sure if you can tell from the scan, but I used metallic gold ink on the braiding for his jacket and the jangly coin belt.

Also notable: this bumper sticker. Talk to your children about mustaches. You could save a life.

guns and mustaches

Follow The Art of Style by Kit Mills.  For more of Kit’s work, check out their website.

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01/11/13 1:15pm

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Welcome to Friday, Untapped Citizens.  I’ll be brief this week. This surly-looking woman was sitting across from me on the subway the other day and I just really liked the color pairing she chose to complement the soft black of the rest of her outfit. Maybe she looks so upset because she just realized that her purse looks like a giant floppy eggplant. Maybe she hates eggplant.

As a bonus, here’s the original sketch I did of her before moving on to the final ink-and-watercolor piece. Usually I just do a quick pencil drawing or outline of something to get the idea and composition down before moving on to the “real” piece in order to keep the final product from looking too carefully-planned. It’s easy to get caught up in making everything look perfect, but I’ve figured out that obsessing over precision just stresses me out and drains the piece of all its energy. The creative process evolves, just like personal style.

art-of-style-rust-sketch
Follow The Art of Style by Kat Mills.  For more of Kat’s work, check out their website.

11/14/12 11:57am

You might remember our Artist Spotlight featuring David Cessac. David is an illustrator and cartoonist based in Paris. His drawings, characterized by fierce humor and expressiveness, have attracted various magazines, communication agencies and cultural organizations. His educational background combining Art and Political Science has given him perfect insight into human interactions. With pens, pencils, pastels and ink at his finger tips, Cessac weaves a universe of poetic and friendly characters and environments. In his new column, A Few Parisians, David will draw the quirky characters he comes across in Paris.

On a Wednesday afternoon, the Quai Branly can provide a place for quiet contemplation. The Eiffel Tower is not so far away, just like the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Grand and Petit Palais. Everything is so close… And on the « Quai » itself, which literally means the banks of the Seine, there’s the Musée du Quai Branly, where children gather with their moms or nannies on this special day (there’s no school on Wednesdays in France!).

It’s one of the most recent museums in Paris, dedicated to the arts of Africa, Oceania, Asia, and the Americas. I don’t go there very often, but every time I walk along the Musée, passing by this huge green wall covered with exotic plants, moss and grass, I’m fascinated. And I just feel like a kid who climbs into a dark attic to find treasures when I enter the rooms to discover the collections of the museum.

All these masks, weapons, outfits from all around the world make this museum the perfect place for kids indeed, an open door for their imagination.

Sometimes, I wish I could wear one of the masks hanging on the walls. But I’m just an adult and I’m not allowed to do that (sigh).

Get in touch with the author/illustrator at @David_Cessac and on Facebook, and check out his website. Check back soon for the next installation in the column A Few Parisians. You can buy this print on The Untapped Shop.

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10/26/12 2:47pm

You say Rolls, I say Royce

 

Autumn hasn’t managed to fully sink its claws into the tough, unwashed flesh of New York quite yet. Last week boasted sun and temperatures in the mid-seventies, and while out and about I saw quite a few people taking  advantage of the lingering summer weather. The forecast said “breezy and beautiful”–what? Should we be expecting the weather to be CoverGirl’s next model?

On one of those gorgeous days last week, I was sitting in Washington Square Park being a total creep and shamelessly people-watching without even pretending to read the book open on my lap. (Not that my reading material would have tempered the creeper image at all–it was  Lolita.) This adorable human coasted across my field of vision on her cute vintage-looking bike and then effortlessly dismounted by swinging one of her legs in front of the seat, balancing one-legged on one of the pedals for a few more meters, and then gracefully launching herself off while leading her bike directly into a bike rack. It was really cinematic to watch, and all the more striking because of how lovely her outfit was. All that red lace spilling down the crisp white of her shirt kind of made her look like an assassin making a getaway after taking care of a messy assignment.

Well, you never know.
Follow The Art of Style by Kat Mills.  For more of Kat’s work, check out their website.