Girl Can Draw

"I am not just drawing clothes, I am drawing dreams."

If you love fashion and art, you will love Girl Can Draw, artist and author, Marta Madison.

Part memoir, part compendium, Girl Can Draw is a treasure trove of inspirational images for lovers of fashion and art. This gorgeous volume will catch the eye of fashion lovers and those who have an interest in contemporary figurative art and visual communication.

Girl Can Draw is foremost a collection of my fashion illustrations spanning a 30 year career. The title derives from a comment someone made while watching her draw: "Man! The girl can draw!"

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With over 90 of Marta's original fashion sketches, there's always a little story in each one, whether it be in pencil, watercolour, or digital. I include tips on how I find inspiration as well as observations on living the artistic life.

Marta says she could not write the book without including her late mother Lenny's story. Lenny was a fashion illustrator who gave up drawing shortly after her marriage in 1952. Marta's mother’s abandonment of her talent affected her greatly and, at age fourteen, she vowed never to give up drawing. Driven by this thought, she became a successful illustrator in Canada by the age of 25. Lenny's sublime drawings are showcased in a chapter dedicated her----an artist whose voice was silenced too soon.

Raised in Canada, she moved to Australia in the late 80s and she too lost her connection to her creative self for decades, just as her mother had. Yet, 30 years later in 2010, through a series of small miracles----the catalyst being a relationship break-up----three miracles happened. While attending a meditation retreat she dropped into the daily art therapy sessions, and here she rekindled her desire to draw. Thus started an artistic renaissance that is only getting stronger.

She started her business, DrawntoFashion.com.au, in 2014, turning her love of bridal fashion into a flourishing career as a bridal sketch artist in Sydney. 

Marta's work is timeless and today's younger artists and students will find much to appreciate and learn from Marta's insights. Readers will find tips on drawing anatomy, the best materials for drawing, how to find clients, the importance of life drawing in a digital age, and offers up inspiration for those looking for new ideas in fashion.

Marta feels that true artistic happiness lies is in finding your unique voice and talks about the challenges of living an authentic artistic life amid the demands of making a living and juggling other commitments. She pays tribute to her artistic heroes, Antonio, Rene Gruau and Dorothy Woods, whom she considers the true pioneers and icons of fashion illustration.