Bygones

I've always felt that I was born in the wrong time, as I aspire much more to these ladies above than the likes of Lady Gaga, or Cheryl Cole. I also believe there is something way more special about black and white photos taken with a film camera. Take a look at these links if you have the same appreciation as I do:

Vogue on Marilyn Monroe

Vogue's Iconic Hollywood Beauties

Some Old Work Continued....

These pieces are generally from sketchbook work for the two different A-level projects described below.

Water Project-

The classic romantic moment of a couple embracing in a kiss in the rain. A different take on a monochrome painting, I used brown and white instead. I think it gives the image more depth and subtlety, black would of been too harsh.

Chalk and charcoal, trying to create a wind and rain-swept effect.

Running to get out of the wet. This is one of my favourite paintings from this project. I think I managed to capture the 'wet' feel for this image (which was quite tricky), you can feel the energy as well. This is definitely a painting style I want to try again sometime!

Measurements Project-

I loved the expression in the picture of this man I found. I wanted to also explore looking at the male form, I think that muscles and contours make for some interesting painting. I really love the red edited version, I think it adds a hell of a lot more energy and would work well editorially. 

'Thin feels better than food tastes.' Famous quote from Kate Moss herself, I felt this was really relevant to cover in my project, she is at the centre of the controversial issues of the 'idealistic' shape for women today. 

I have added the originals and also edited versions that I think look good too!

Some Old Work of Mine...

The top painting is a copy of one of Jenny Saville's pieces I was inspired by for a project at A-level called 'measurements'. I was looking at people's perceptions of their own bodies and how the 'idealistic' shape has changed over the years. When I was painting it, I thought it was going to turn out really wrong. However, when I'd finished it I was surprised with myself and it's now one of my favourite paintings I've done so far. I remember my art teachers kept telling me to paint 'looser', and now I see why; I think this style of painting suits me best. 

The second painting is a Rembrandt copy, this was painted during a project looking at water and how it's effects can distort images. This was my little attempt at renaissance painting. After completing it, I gained so much more respect for the painters of that period. It is probably the longest I have ever spent on a painting, and I still wasn't happy (the proportions aren't quite right), and I know that they used to spend literally years on a single painting - god knows how they had the patience. However I was pretty pleased with the overall finish. I think I captured the colours well, and the folds in the fabric look fairly realistic, so I consider this as one of my successes!

I will be adding more to this post as I find more of my old paintings (and hopefully some paintings that aren't artist copies), so this is to be continued....

Indian Ink

Results of me purchasing some Indian ink and my friend Ella giving me 'Agent Provocateur: Soiree' pictures. Apologies for dodgy ink splashes but this is something that anyone who has used ink before knows can't be helped! Also concluded that I need a real camera, not just my rubbish phone camera (any donations would be gratefully accepeted). 

Dress Up

I absolutely love dressing up and on this occasion it was for Halloween (I don't just dress like this on a day to day....). Usually I have extremely long fair hair, so it was fun to experiment with a wig; I hardly recognised myself in the mirror.  I think this is definitely one of the ways I like to express my creativity. I know it's quite petty but it actually really irritates me when people don't make an effort for a fancy dress event, so I always make sure I go all out!

Anyway... On a more arty note, I have bought myself a new sketch book and some indian ink so hopefully I will have some more stuff to post soon!