The gown. That hair! Solange, that is. And with such an already musical name like that, why call this anything else? The source of it all can be seen on Elle.
I used some metallic watercolors for this 9″ x 12″ painting – a size which exceeds my scanning bed. The glint of the metallic gets lost on a monitor but I’m happy enough with the outcome here.
Solange
I went crazy for some coiled hair. The coiled hair and the model’s silhouettes. Both, I found in Chanel’s Spring 2017 campaign. [I found out later that the model’s name appears to be Arizona Muse and she was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld.] As for calling this piece “Tarmac”, all I can say on that is that it felt like the right fit.
Tarmac
It was in February 2016 when I first announced – online, here – that I was devoting myself to the traditional mediums with my art. Although, originally the idea had been to pursue combining paintings with digital imagery. [See: Brushwork] Which didn’t actually pan out, exactly.
Anyway, rather than include this piece in the Diaphanous collection, I feel it speaks more of the Arch series due to the mirroring, et al. Painted with watered Gelatos, it measures 9 ¾” x 6”. Is this dawn and dusk at an intersection?
Arch 17-01
In this painting, I have photographer Jorge Badura to thank. Harper’s Bazaar, in their November 2016 issue, called in Badura to photograph an editorial that had featured a group of fantastic, skyscraper scaling, aerialists who took to the skies while dressed in haut coutures.
Hence the title: Diaphanous Scaling [“Gelato” painting, 14″ x 10″]
Diaphanous Scaling
Rita Ora is featured within “Paper” magazine’s October issue, wearing a Roberto Cavalli dress – which in reality is what I would call a peacock-blue color. While Rita is a sensation, that Cavalli dress just had to taken for my Diaphanous series. And whatever the blue that it is, I rendered it instead in orange. The two alien objects depicted were taken from the same editorial [photographed by Nicolas Moore – no relation] are tracings from Rita’s zig zag bobby pinned crown.
Free Fall
Many people without any artistic skills might view classic fashion illustrations as seemingly effortless to pull off. [When I say “classic”, David Downton comes to mind.] Those people would be so wrong. The key to creating a striking piece, I would say, has more to do with just the right amount of restraint. In this Gelatos medium image, which I call “Les Autres Femmes” [The Other Women], I’d be the first to say I didn’t nail it. And there is a story behind it – but that will remain my secret.
Les Autres Femmes
In 1956, a photographer [without credit] from the Press Association caught Brigitte Bardot while she was in Cannes. To me, the dress that Bardot was wearing in this image appeared as joyous as the look on her face:
Brigitte Bardot, 1956
Below, is my own spin – which I painted using water colors:
Diaphanous Bardot
Okay… I hesitate to comment on this piece. But what is it to worship? Within the pages of my beaten old Webster’s Dictionary, the word “worship” – in part – includes “intense love”. Given the times, I just have to wonder. More than wonder, I painted this diptych. [Added note: I used Gelatos with water and all depicted was almost entirely eyeballed – without rulers, etc.]
Holy
In this, there was no plan. In front of me was 8.5 inches by 8.5 inches of space and that was it. My brush, loaded with gouache, went to a corner and I just kept going. When I felt it was more or less complete, I had sent the image to an artist friend who then deemed it [something like] very Carl Jung. I presume he had Jung’s “The Red Book” in mind. And that’s okay by me.
Ripples
For Sonia Rykiel’s Spring 2016 collection, Juergen Teller – a photographer who I’ve long considered as phenomenal – produced the looks for the ad campaign. In this gouache triptych, one of Rykiel’s dresses is duplicated. [In part in the top panel and in full, sans model Georgia May Jagger, in the bottom panel.] Floating between the top and bottom panels, a Balenciaga ruffled detail was used.
Diaphanous Ascent
I was drawn to a tunic featured in the April 2016 issue of Elle. Although in this painted diptych, I’ve butchered it beyond recognition – with much due respect to photographer Liz Collins and the tunic’s designer, Michael Kors. Furthermore, this garment isn’t actually diaphanous – in that I had taken what was brown suede and then interpreted it in a very different way.
Diaphanous Companion
From the pages of Harper’s Bazaar. [Their March 2016 issue.] Calvin Klein trousers – as photographed by Camilla Akrans – and ruffles as seen in a Balmain ad. I painted the triptych here using “Gelato” colors, which I mixed only with water.
Diaphanous Echo
Art by Jeni Moore 