Anxiety and medieval head gear

Apologies for the stop and go posting as of late. I've been struggling a bit with my mental health lately and have therefore not felt like doing anything creative at all. I'm still struggling but I think that the worst part of it is over and done with for now. I'm Starting with cognitive behavioral therapy in April, hopefully it will help me get over my anxieties.

Now instead of moaning about how depressed I am I'm going to share a sketch I made yesterday! Sharing creativity is much better than dragging everybody down in my opinion. Below you can see a pencil drawing that is slightly based of a photo I took of myself and also on a medieval head garb and dress that I was able to photograph when I visited Warwick castle in 2010.

I'm a big fan of history. I love to look at and visit old castles and historical sites. I'm terrible with numbers so I never remember years and dates, but clothes and architecture I remember. I'm particularly interested in nordic mythology and the medieval ages in western europe 

Below you can see the photos I used as inspiration and reference!

This was one of the wax figures on display in the Warwick castle

This is a picture of me from 2010

Until next time,

Anita Olsen Støbakk

Undead in red

This in my mind is a crazy undead redhead. I mean she is either undead or she has a serious general aversion to sunlight. Who knows, but as my dear fiancée pointed out she looks mental either way.

(c) Anita K. Olsen

website:

www.anitaolsen.daportfolio.com

Contact:

anitaolsen.illustration@gmail.com

Until next time

Anita K. Olsen

Sunglasses and lollipops

Since it is now finally summer and the sun is nice and bright today I figured I would post something nice and summery. The only way this girl could be more summery is if she was eating an ice ceam instead of a lollipop.

I know this is a bit different from all the fantasy stuff I usually post, but I felt like it was necessary to take a step out of the fantastical realm and into something more ordinary and relatable. After all I am versatile artist, which means that I am capable of drawing more than just elves and heroes and dragons and stuff. Every once in a while it's good to remind yourself and  the people around you of that fact.

Hope the summer is treating you guys well so far, and that it will do so in the near future as well.

Until next time
Anita K. Olsen

My ghostly appearance and a good cause!

The story behind the portrait? It's not too big really. Rather it is part of a slightly bigger story. I was working on a skateboard design for the "Kickflip for a cause" contest, arranged by deviantart and the vans warped tour 2012. Kickflip for a cause is a contest held to raise awareness around Boarding for breast cancer. The assignment was this:

Create a skate deck design for one of the four bands that will be shredding up the stage at this Summer's Vans Warped Tour and support the work of Boarding for Breast Cancer! Even better, winners walk away with some awesome prizes! Boarding for Breast Cancer, is a non-profit organization educating young people on breast cancer awareness and breast health.

I liked the cause, I like one of the bands participating, I didn't really need more motvation than that! Anywhoot, I had a great idea for a board design, but for that I needed a female portrait. I didn't have the time to set up a photo session with a model so I photographed myself with make-up running down my face and into my eyes. It stung so much I could hardly see. You have no idea how hard it is to do a good picture when your face is smeared with make-up and water, but hey I got the right picture in the end. I based the portrait on my own face, adding, stretching, making up and beautifying my visage until I had something that looked like what I wanted. The result is below:

(c) Anita K. Olsen

it's too late to participate in the contest unfortunately, but if you would like to see some of the other entries and maybe show your appreciation towards the people who put in an effort for the cause than head over to deviantart and take a look at all the cool and different designs! Links can be found at the bottom of this post.

And of course below is my super duper bananapancakesawesome skateboard design. Enjoy!

 

(c) Anita k. Olsen

Contest rules: http://moonbeam13.deviantart.com/journal/KickFlip-for-the-Cause-Contest-302754801

Entries in the pierce the veil category: http://browse.deviantart.com/contests/2012/kickflip/piercetheveil/

Until next time
Anita K. Olsen