Paradox in Noir

I recently got the opportunity to paint the promotional poster for my friend Rebecca's new film, Paradox in Noir. She wanted a classic film noir look to the piece, which was right up my alley. The movie premiers tonight at 6:30pm at Coffee Underground.


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Anatomy of a Corset

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For Christmas last year, my mom gave me an issue of McCall's magazine from 1906. The past few days I have been working on a paper doll girl from the 1900's, so I have been pouring over the corset ads in the magazine, including one like the one above. My favorite is the "Reduso corset: for fleshier women." The corsets create such a different shape in the body that I have had to rethink how the different clothes would hang on my paper doll woman. And, I cannot even imagine what it would be like to wear one of these!

On a different note- I have listed several of my paper doll minis in my Etsy shop. I will be adding more over the next couple of weeks, so check back often.


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This Woman's Life

16"x 20"
Oil on Canvas
$575

I've been spending a lot of time looking at pages of vintage paper dolls for inspiration. There is something appealing about that page of outfits and accessories before they have been cut out- a world of possibilities for this one little paper doll girl. That got me thinking about the various possibilities open to women in various decades. I decided to paint a page of paper doll pieces which depict the typical life of a woman of a specific time period. I started with the 1950's, mainly because I knew what kind of wedding dress I wanted to paint for her. I am planning on doing the same thing with several other decades as well. I especially love the little girl in the corner, with all the stages of her life spread out around her.


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For a day on the Town

I think I painted this one just because I want an outfit like this...


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A Job to do

The boys may be gone over seas, but she still has work to do.

I love these old uniforms, and how the colors and types of hats, and even headscarves, designated what job a woman had. Below are two of my favorite war propaganda posters depicting jobs for women during the war. 

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A day at home

When she's not singing at the nightclub, she can throw on this little number for comfort and style while she is helping her family around the house.

I had a gentleman tell me this weekend that you wouldn't wear green shoes with a red dress. I told him that maybe it wasn't traditional, but that I would wear them together. Luckily, I was wearing about five different colors that day, which illustrated my point perfectly.


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What to wear

I have been working non-stop on my little paper doll project in preparation for this weekend's Artisphere festival. Doing these pieces is more like playing than work. Want to see these pieces in person or take a few home with you? Come by the studio this weekend. Artisphere runs Friday night, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday up on Main St., and the artists of Art Crossing will be open then as well.


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A Girl with Many Faces

I have been dilligently working on some smaller versions of my paper doll pieces. I hope to have a multitude of dolls and outfit pieces ready for next weekend's Artisphere festival. The fun part has been trying to make each one different. The hard part is narrowing down all the ideas that I have. If you are around for First Friday tomorrow night, stop in the studio to see what I have been doing.


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The Glamorous Life of an Artist

A glimpse at a typical day in my very glamorous life as an artist:
1. Alarm clock at 7:45. Hit snooze 4 times.
2. Realize that by doing so I have given myself 30 minutes to get ready
3. Throw on clothes, guzzle coffee, get directions to museum in Columbia where 2 paintings need to be dropped off.
4. Wire back of paintings in parking lot of apartment building.
5. Car radio broken. Loudly sing show tunes for hour and a half trip.
6. Pull up to museum. Take stock of how I am dressed for the first time. Hope museum staff will chock up my appearance to being "artsy."
7. Get paintings into museum moments before first raindrop falls.
8. Drop off paintings (approximate amount of time: 30 seconds)
9. Run back to car through downpour. Settle uncomfortably in car for one and a half hour trip home in wet clothes.
10. Run out of show tunes.
11. Think of several new, brilliant ideas for paintings. Lament the fact that you cannot sketch while driving.
12. Lunch
13. Head for studio. Turn back for forgotten package that needs to go to Post Office.
14. Drive past Post Office
15.Stand in non-moving Post Office line while postal employee explains in painful detail to woman at front of line what forms of id are needed to open a PO Box.
16. Arrive at studio, exhausted, having forgotten new, brilliant ideas for paintings. Start again tomorrow.

A multitude of Paper dolls

I think I have hit on something here. I love these paper doll pieces I have been working on- I love the look of them, I love the idea of them, and I love hearing people walk past the studio say "oh, look at the paper dolls!" I have so many ideas that I can't seem to paint fast enough. I am working on a couple of pieces now, which I will post in a few days. In the meantime, look at these amazing vintage paper dolls that I have found online. Want to see more? Check out the huge quantity of paper dolls in Bobe's Picasa Web album.

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For a Night Out

Outfit one for my paper doll gal. In case she has a big night out planned, or decides to become a night club singer on the side.

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Playing Dress Up

 When I was little I loved paper dolls. I actually made my own set. They were a family of bears that I cut out of cardboard, and I designed little construction paper clothes for them. I found that set not to long ago when I was cleaning out my closet at my parents' house, and it got me thinking about the idea of paper dolls. For a long time, I have been fascinated with the transformative nature of clothes- how what we wear can change, not only how we look, but how we act and how other people perceive us. The same paper doll girl, when given a new set of clothes, becomes a totally different person.

This piece is just step one in this idea. I am currently working on several other pieces of the same size that are the various outfits, the various personalities that this girl can put on. I think that, when hung together, they will be a really interesting statement.


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