Elegant dining

5"x 7"
Oil on canvas panel
$55
Available for purchase in my Etsy shop

"The company was good," Dorthy thought as she glanced approvingly around her comfortable and elegant dining room, "but the food was better."


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A Paper-Doll-a-Day and Paper doll yourself!

My last painting-a-day project, for which I started this blog back in January of 2007, was to help me get over a block, to push myself as an artist, and to help me to find my voice. It is because of the approximately 2 and a half years that I spent doing daily paintings that my work has come to the place where it is now.

So it is with much excitement that I introduce my new project- A Paper-Doll-a-Day! While the last project was about artistic growth, this one is about making lots and lots of paper dolls! The pieces will be various sizes, from "minis" up to almost life sized. Some may be individual figures or outfits, while others will be whole collections. I am planning to post at least 6 days each week, so I should end the year with 312-365 paper doll pieces.

"How can I help?" you ask? Well, I have become a bit notorious for rejecting other people's ideas for my work. (for proof, check out this post.) But not this time! Bring on those suggestions! What paper dolls would you like to see? A specific time period? Type of clothing? Historical figure? Anything you think of I can make happen. And, yes, I am planning to include you guys as well, so bring on those masculine type suggestions. I'm also looking for story lines for the paper dolls, so let me know if your figures have a back story.

"What's in it for me?" you say? If the joy of contributing to my artistic endeavor is not enough, here is something else. Everyone who comments on this post with a suggestion for paper doll pieces they would like to see will be entered to win a personalized paper doll painting of his or herself with an outfit of your choice. That's right! You will be turned into a paper doll with whatever outfit or persona you would like. Ladies- you could be a vintage vixen or Marie Antoinette. Gents- a superhero or dapper man about town. It is up to you.

Here are the details:
1. To enter, comment on this post with a suggestion or suggestions for paper doll pieces you would like to see. Feel free to comment multiple times, but you will only be entered once here.
2. Gain additional chances to win by doing any of the following. Each action will get you one additional chance to win:
-share a link to this post on Facebook
-share a link on twitter
-post about it on your own blog (make sure you send me a link to the post)
-become a fan of Emily Clarke Studio on Facebook (if you are already a fan, don't try this. Just do one of the other things.)
3. The winner will be picked randomly on Monday, June 27. That gives you two weeks to wrack those brains for ideas, so get thinking!

So, lets get started!


5"x 7"
Oil on canvas panel
$55
Available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Dorthy surveyed her closet with a practiced eye. "Who do I want to be today?" she mused. "Sophisticated? Bombshell?" The possibilities were way too endless...


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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

[source]

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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