Month: April 2013

Fashion illustration.

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Some time ago we explored fashion illustration through the use of mixed media whilst using other artists work to influence our own.  We worked three series of three paintings each, these works are my final series of paintings.

I am not quite sure where I got the idea to do such large pieces, although on my second series my paintings were getting longer and longer.

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to show you for quite a while and on Friday I managed to get some proper photo’s to show you, with me in scale, all 5ft 10″ of me.  And just so you can get the full experience of what I was thinking at the time, I shall recreate my labels as they appeared when displayed under each photograph.

Winter

This picture conveys the icy glare and barren trees that often accompany winter days.  The first of a set of three pictures illustrating my skirt have in themselves become a means of exploring time and travel.  The skirt or rather the model is exploring her space in the picture and because of this is travelling through the pictures showing different aspects of her clothing, however whilst this is occurring the passage of time continues as we know time never stands still. One can see where the influence of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian man has influenced my work through the use of many limbs, to explore movement.  Gustav Klimt’s work in his gold period gave me the inspiration to use the aluminium foil. Julie Verhoeven’s use of line, especially her changing medium mid stroke and David Hockney’s changing seasons which he so often uses in his work.

 
Spring turning to Summer
In this picture one can see how the trees have burst into life, smothered in blossom.  At her feet there are spring flowers blooming, heady with their scent with which to attract the first of the insects.  Rays of the sun are streaming through the trees behind her portrayed with the use of collage,  she appears happy and content.

Autumn

In this picture one can see how the trees are now filled with fruit, all of the spring flowers are gone and one can feel, almost imperceptibly the changes that will culminate once again in the barren time that is winter.  Behind her we can see the darkness that is growing accompanied by the autumn fogs that lay gently on the ground often bringing with them ground frosts that kill the last of the summer plants.  We also see the full width of her skirt, which symbolises a dandelion with ripened seed, ready to release its offspring to the next sharp wind.  Maybe it is too late in the season for these seeds to develop before the hardest of frosts, one can only wait and see.

Ultimately the series reveals the circle of life and the way that no matter what we are doing, we are moving through it.

I hope you enjoyed that little interlude, I must get back to my knitting. 
And for those in the know, not long to go, my portfolio is very nearly ready!

She lives!

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I am so sorry to have left you for such a long time.  Hubby read my blog the other day and reminded me that I have been gone for a while, lets just say its been intense, but in a good way.  You know I am loving it, right? The joy of learning at my age, is so wonderful.  I just want to shake them (the other students) and say ‘look, its great, did you know that was going on, that was amazing for that time, the history, look at it, imagine, just imagine’. I am starting to sound like one of those weird poems they tried to open up our consciousness with when we were twelve, (like we knew anything then!) remember the ones that didn’t rhyme – I get them now, I didn’t then.
So my Easter holidays were pretty.. trying to think of the right word,… busy. I hardly ventured out of the house, the computer was on 24/7 (slight exaggeration) I typed, alot (not an exaggeration). So on the last weekend, hubby took the reigns and whisked me off to London, to visit some exhibitions he knew I really wanted to see. 
This is the start of the Ice Age Exhibition at the British Musuem, where you can photograph it freely.  It is the reproduction of the clay bison from Tuc d’Audoubert Cave, Ariege, France. 
They found footprints dancing around this deep, actually very deep into the cave. Its about 15,000 years old, sculpted to such a degree you even have an anus, which may seem rather rude in today’s world, but I suspect it was without thought at that time and you’d certainly not want to eat around the area that delivered waste. 
 Ice Age Art was amazing, thought provoking, emotional. 
 40,000 years ago, people were producing art that we can relate to, 
when you think about that, they had the same emotions, imaginations and worries. 
They were the same as us.  
Just looking at the female figures that were sculptured, – very few were of a size 10, they were cuddly, child bearing women, with boobs that had fed children and a tummy that would provide a great hot water bottle for their partners, bearing in mind it was the ice age.  These women were venerated, just the way they were.

We stopped for coffee and cakes (excellent coffee, really good!) in members before venturing forth again. 

We whipped around the Pompeii and Hurculaneum exhibition, it was exciting to see some of the works that I had studied so carefully in books. The mosaic black dog was seen in all its splendor. Having only seen small pictures of it, I was transfixed to find that even the dew claws of the dog were clearly visible. There were horrors, you know a Pompeii exhibition will contain a few of those, I hurried past those as quickly as possible.

And then I found Elgin’s marbles. Now previously on many a British Museum visit, there were so many marbles, it was so tricky to understand it all.
But now I do, partly at least, so it adds to the fascination of them all.
Shame the British Museum didn’t know how to clean them in the early 1900’s and mistakes were made, but the beauty of them is still there, the room was built to house them which I feel adds to the feeling of awe and wonder about them.
We quickly toddled off to what is fast becoming my favourite fabric shop in London Cloth House, or should I say shops, 98 and 47 Berwick Street, worth going in both as they have different stock, my favourite linens are at no. 47.  And then happily toddled around Berwick Street, stopping for lunch then toddling some more.  One day I must go to Berwick Street before seeing an exhibition, I would feel alot more lively.  Of course I bought just a little linen for a summer skirt, which I am hoping (the summer) will happen soon.
On the way to the tube we stopped off at Carnaby Street to see what was what.
We found this amazing shoe shop, with completely whacky shoes, it gave me some ideas for old sandals, its amazing what you can do with a silk flowers and a bunch of grapes.  There were some beautiful shoes for the younger generation, they were selling very well. 
Party shoes!
And absolutely shattered we decided to catch the train  home and find somewhere to eat. 
Having read another blog I was desperate to try Kayal which is all about the Kerala cuisine.  So we booked reservations, which even though very early on a Saturday night they only just managed to squeeze us in at 9.00 p.m. When we came in we were ushered into the back room, which was delightful it felt really cosy.
The food was amazing, I finally got to have my first Dosa, which is ground rice and lentils to form a very smooth paste which is then left to ferment overnight and made into a very light pancake and then filled with a potato dish and served with dips made from coconut and lentils. I’ve often looked at Dosa’s being made in cookery programmes and wondered about them, it was delicious and light, a little plain perhaps, but no worse for that.  I feel it was like the Indian working man’s equivalent to our Cornish pastie. It was worth the wait of the many years I have wanted to try it.
 and soon our mains had come.

I can’t remember the names of the dishes, mine was a prawn dish as I felt I should go with the fish theme that Kerala is so famous for served with coconut rice and hubby’s chicken something with steamed rice balls served in a coconut sauce.  The food is nothing like we have got used to, it was a real treat to be served authentic Indian cuisine. 
And so we went home, happy, tired, joyful and content.