I've never painted a man's full portrait before. So I took a chance with Ryan Gosling. Cuz, ya know, not exactly an unpleasant task. Since I mostly paint women, I was afraid that maybe my paintings of guys would turn out all girly and pretty ;-) The scruffy 5 o'clock shadow helped, though. So maybe it's time to expand into painting a guy or two now and then? Just me and Ryan and a little Ella Studio time :-)
My friend Irazmi and I go way back, all the way to our college days in the architecture program at the University of Arizona. It was great to reconnect back in LA after years of living in different cities. And I was happy to see that Irazmi is still involved with one of her passions, cheerleading. Her work with cheerleading teams connects her with so many amazing people. One of those people is Ava London Doiron-Frankland, the daughter of Michael Doiron and of cheerleading coach Jeff Frankland. Ava bravely battled glioblastoma for more than 2 years. Sadly, in June 2016, Ava lost her fight. This beautiful and vivacious 7 year old went through what no child should ever have to endure. And although I did not meet Ava, I was amazed and inspired by the story of her strength and the endurance of her loving family and friends. You can find out more about Ava's journey on Facebook at Ava's Army, a community that stood by her and supported her and her family throughout this difficult time. I was incredibly honored to paint the portrait of this sweet angel for Irazmi and for her family. May you rest in peace, sweet Ava! Spending special time with little Ava in Ella Studio and sending her and her family my prayers as I tried to capture her essence on paper. Eva's special and joyful smile.
This is a trio of portraits for my childhood friend, Giorgiana. I've known Giorgi and her mom Nutzi since I was a young kid. But I have yet to meet Giorgi's daughter, Yasmin. Hopefully one day soon. And although years have past, and we’ve been living in different countries for close to 30 years, it’s nice to reconnect thanks to the awesome technology of social media. Nutzi, Giorgi and Yasmin: three generations of beautiful women. Giorgi's finished portrait. She was wearing the most fun outfit for a garden party, with silver glittery sneakers and a tshirt with a print of the shoes. I love the mix of the lady-like skirt in the fun bright fuchsia with a playful tshirt and sporty shoes! Super cute! I'm applying a bit of Martha Stewart magic, silver glitter, to her portrait. After shaking off the excess glitter. Cool sneaks! The beginning of Giorgi's portrait, during picnic at the park. Gotta love LA weather, it's always picnic ready! Nutzi's finished portrait. In progress, in Ella Studio. Adding the finishing Martha Stewart touches to Nutzi's gold necklace. Yasmin's portrait, a beautiful young lady. Ella Studio action shots. My Ella Studio's got me covered: cup holders aka brush holders, small water container in the second cup holder (under the painting), color palette and my messenger bag with my portable painting supplies. I'm all set! I could paint anywhere! Yasmin gets the gold Martha Stewart bling treatment, too. But all the glitter action happens at home, in my actual studio - as much as I love glitter and don't mind it all over the house, I draw the line at my Ella ;-)
Ella Studio in session! More Clean Food Dirty Girl T-shirt designs explorations at lunch. Testing out some ideas inspired by bad ass Ruby Rose, who is right on brand for CFDG. I love it when I push my skill into gritty and loose! Ella Studio set up, complete with hot pink tape!
This cutie pie is Matilda. She looks like such a sweetie, look at that cute little face! Sadly, Matilda passed away a short while ago, and her owner, Caroline, was heartbroken. Caroline's friend, Elaine, commissioned me to paint Matilda's portrait as a gift for Caroline and her family in this time of grief. I was only too happy to help Elaine with this sweet gesture for her friend.
After giving Caroline Matilda's portrait, Elaine said: 'Beautiful! There are no words to describe how wonderful this painting turned out! My friend saw the painting of Matilda I had put in a frame. She called me and couldn't stop crying. She loved it! I'm so glad I chose you to do the portrait! Thanks a million!'. Thank you for trusting me with such a special memory, Elaine, I am honored! As a former mom of fur babies, I know how painful it is to lose a beloved pet, and I was incredibly happy that my work could bring some comfort to your friend during this hard time. I'm glad I could make a difference with my art. Hugs, Cristina OMG! I just made the most amazing plant-based 'cheesy’ sauce this past weekend, and I am in heaven!! And I owe this enlightening experience to none other than Molly Patrick of Clean Food, Dirty Girl - you can find the recipe here** along with a full mac 'n cheese experience. Not only is this vegan cheesy sauce so tasty, but its beautiful golden yellow brought on some painting inspiration, as I was busy stuffing myself ;-) So I serve you (on a platter, duh!) an entirely whole-foods, plant-based portrait of Molly, the creator of the most amazing cheesy sauce! Ta-dah!! Molly's hair is made out of the golden cheesy sauce, of course, ha! And you'll be happy to know that no blueberries, strawberries or cranberries were harmed in the creation of this portrait: all leftovers made it into my morning smoothie today! Here's my blank 'canvas' and color palette of gold yellow cheesy sauce and blends of blueberries, strawberries and cranberries. Oh, yeah, and my 'paintbrush' :-) If you haven’t come across Molly Patrick before, she is an extremely funny and engaging person who is passionate about making whole-foods plant-based recipes as tasty as they can get and equally passionate about delivering them to those interested in the least boring way. And, let me tell you, she's wildly succeeding at both! As is the case with this awesome cheesy sauce, recipe here. I finished making it and dug right in with some Ezekiel toast and had to pry myself from the bowl of golden yumminess before I ended up putting it all away! Later in the day, I even added it to something healthy, steamed broccoli, instead of just chowing it down by itself! So proud of my self-restraint! I've been following Molly for over a year now, and I am one of the lucky peeps who get her Saturday emails: I look forward to each email as it is delivered to my in-box with a freshly created yummy recipe of the week and a focal point of conversation. Recipes go from the best plant-based mac 'n cheese using this cheesy sauce, to meat lovers-approved plant-based meatballs, to a dee-lish turmeric vanilla latte. And each recipe comes with a great story that I can always relate to on a deeper level than meets the eye.
Molly is nothing if not honest and a straight shooter. She is courageous in sharing her stories in a way that allows her to become open to all of us, to reach out and connect with a vulnerability that I find very inspiring. Her empathy and compassion ooze from every single story and always somehow connect back to food and to how what we eat affects how our minds and bodies feel. You might think, how are these things connected? The best way to find that out is to subscribe to her free newsletter here and find out over the course of the following weeks. And you also get a free recipe book when you sign up! Yum! You can also find Molly and her cooking adventures on Facebook at Clean Food Dirty Girl and on Instagram @cleanfooddirtygirl Most of all, check out Molly's website, which has TONS of free recipes, and lots of advice on how to be gentle with yourself on this journey of eating foods that give you energy, make you happy and keep you healthy, no matter if you are also eating meat or not. You will find something yummy (and entertaining) if you want to throw some healthy meals into the mix regardless of where you are on your personal journey towards a healthier you. Thank for all the great recipes, Molly! Looking forward to the next one! Cristina **Spoiler alert: if you have a sensitivity to colorful language, please tread lightly. I find Molly to be very down-to-earth, funny and engaging, and her passion for health, plant-based eating and self-discovery are qualities I deeply admire. That passion comes in all forms, like great tasting healthy recipes, enriching stories and also very *specific* language at times ;-) While I appreciate her humor, and I hope you will have the same reaction I do to her inspiring stories and to her direct style of communication, I realize this may not work for everyone, so please keep that in mind as you visit her site. Bon Apetit! A short while ago, my mom’s husband, Bob, made a special request for a portrait of their cute little dog, Pucki (sounds like cookie). She’s just over a year old, a mix of chiuhuahua and terrier, with a definite strong lean on the terrier side: she looks like a terrier, and she’s a total live wire, this one! :-) Complete with chewing on Bob’s slippers and leaving them in a million bits and pieces, jumping excitedly on everyone, and slipping in a quick face lick when you least expect it, haha! She’s a total cutie pie, a little miss smartie, and she’s loads of fun! And with a face like this, who could resist her! So she became my new project as a birthday present for Bob. Happy birthday, Bob! My mission to paint her cute and lively little face, and all that long fur hanging all over her ears was so much fun! She’s quite a character, and she brings so much joy to both my mom, Ari, and to her husband Bob. They we both so happy to see her portrait, and loved how much it looked like her :-) Here she is, the little spoiled diva who gets chicken breast for treats, with Bob, next to her very own portrait, in a millisecond of holding still :-)
Happy birthday, Bob! May you and mom enjoy Pucki and her portrait for many, many years to come! Love you, guys! With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I was inspired to paint a V-Day kiss and to experiment with a looser watercolor style. It's good to show some love to that untapped potential that comes with getting outside of your own comfort zone. And this Valentine's, I'd like to do just that. For a print of this illustration, please visit my shop. To Valentine Kisses!
xoxo Reese Witherspoon is always just flawless, but she is especially so in a stunning pair of Tiffany earrings, I gotta say! So lady-like, down to earth and always with a great sense of humor. Love her!
How much do I love this red Valentino gown Gwyneth Paltrow wore at the Mirabilia Romae haute couture show a few weeks ago? She is, as usual, stunning and flawless! And a few detail shots
The beautiful Adriana Lima inspired this monochromatic, minimal portrait Progress images of the portrait
This is for the little girls still in all of us 'grown ups'! This makes me wanna wear pink and pop some bubble gum :-) I was so inspired by the colors and patterns of this whole outfit with the bird-of-paradise flowers, I just had to illustrate Tropical Girl! I was still frozen solid from having the AC blowing on me all day at the office, that I imagined she lives in a colorful paradise of blue skies, turquoise warm waters and white sand. Ahhhh ... And she spends her day under a palm tree, with her fab hat on, in the warm ocean breeze, gazing into the blue horizon while sipping on water from a freshly open coconut ... and not between four walls in front of a computer screen ;-) Here she is, in-progress I simply love these cat-eye glasses, so fun! She's so stylish! Finished her pretty face days ago, but apparently I'm slower to scan and clean up my finished pieces than I am to quickly edit a snap shot and post on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter :-) So follow me on either one (or all three!) for daily updates and more progress shots! In-progress shots of Cat-Eye Girl!
Today is my mom's birthday! We celebrated her birthday on Saturday, and I was so excited to finally unveil her birthday present that I've been working on for months: a portrait of her and my grandma, her mom!! This is the last time we saw my grandma, four years ago, and we lost her shortly after. I treasure these moments spent with the three of us together, three generations in the house my mom grew up in. This portrait is a reminder of that special moment, of all the wonderful memories we made together, and of the strong bond and love the three of us share that will go on forever, no matter where we are. Happy birthday, mami! I love you and grandma so, so much!! ❤️ Progress of painting my beautiful ladies! Cheek to cheek, my beautiful mom and grandma! I love you both so much! Adding the finishing touches Framed and ready for mom :-) |
WELCOME!
I'm Cristina Tudor, a Beverly Hills fashion illustrator. I paint live illustrations at fashion, retail, entertainment, bridal and lifestyle events for clients such as Chanel, Ferragamo, Piaget, David Yurman x Galia Lahav, Badgley Mischka, Bloomingdale's, Warner Bros. Studios, Diptyque Paris, Ted Baker London, Eric Buterbaugh x Beverly Hills EB Florals, and Survey Monkey, among others. FOLLOW CRISTINA:
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