Monday, January 30, 2012

Intergalactic Ornaments.



"Her mixture of intelligence and beauty, of innocence and allure, of courage and integrity and yet with a good measure of a child's mischievousness, floor you every time you look upon her. "



Have been searching high and low for inspiration lately....and I was hitting all sorts of brick walls until BAM! I found it in an enexepected but entirely lovingly recieved way....Star Wars. Oh yes. It's been done before, I know. And  I've always been a fan, but I haven't revisited the wonderful world or Mr. Lucas for a long time.

Watching my own Lucas play in his band Apolarbear (visit ApolarbearMusic and check them out) with an amazing Aussie export band "The Red Paintings" (look them up here for some examples of their crazy outfits) I was immediatly struck by the bands bizarre costuing and out of this world laser show ('Scuse pun. Wait...No, I totally meant that one).

The band and the Star Wars movies seemed to have a lot in common to me; avant-garde costuming, eccetric makeup, a presence that doesn't really belong in our grey suit and hipster oriented world. Dressing to us is a simple, often odious task. Conformity and cool-factor is what people are striving for now, and this is leaving people looking, acting and portraying the same exact image to me, over and over, perhaps in a slightly different shade. Personal and artistic expression seem to be loosing it's importance in fashion. An out-there idea or a fleeting desire to do whatever you want is genuinely becoming a thing of the past, and is something to be scared of, something weird.

Dressing to Padme Amidala is a three hour exercise in disguise, masking her true face so she can rule with respect and uniformity. She wears pale make up and the characteristic red beauty dots and red stripe on her lip to symbolise a mark of remembrance. She is intriguing and enigmatic to me, and my obsession with her has been long standing, so I'm glad I can express her through my art. Hopefully I've done a good enough job. She's a big deal, you know. Of course you do. Duh. Ok, rant over. But just check out her amaaaazing costuming. Phew.


Here's the progress shot of the piece which I will call "Amidala (Defiant but Captivating)".




I got some great inspiration from a behind the scenes video of a photoshoot inspired by Star Wars shot by Marc & Louis Photography's with model Maura Waller (Option Model Agency) and Swiss Garrison providing us Darth Vader and a stormtrooper. 




Here's the video:




And some inspiration shots sourced mainly from 'weheartit' and from online images from the "Dressing a Galaxy: The costumes of Star Wars". Beautiful. Enjoy!

 



























 





"Worth 1000" is a photoshopping competition in which contestants were asked to insert Star Wars characters and vehicles into classic paintings and sculptures. I think these are just GREAT. Fantastic take on some classics. They made me look twice to see what the hell was up.







 








xo.


Monday, January 2, 2012

Victoria and Elizabeth.


Lately I have been loving the Victorian and Elizabethan eras. The jewels, the lace, the extravagant clothing...and the hair! If I had to put that much effort into my appearance just to be ignored and stepped on by every male in my structured life I would pretty much be ready to dig up a mini skirt and shout to some loud music. But these girls had no way of doing that, they wouldn't really have even known that there was another option; they would have just been wishing for a different life. But at least they had amazing lace dresses and jewelled neckpieces. Trawling the internet I found some beautiful photo's and fashion magazine spreads that really inspired me to draw a girl that would or could have somehow belonged in that era.

I have named her "Lorena (Petulant And Imprisoned)" and I imagined that she was trapped in the splendour and the grace expected of her. I have followed on with my theme of mixed media and have glued some more pressed flowers and also real butterfly wings.




Some progress shots. . . .






Some exerts from my journal. . . .


 

And the final product. . . .


"Lorena (Petulant But Imprisoned)" 
 2 o 1 2  
3o cm  x  6o cm
graphite, ink, acrylic with pressed flowers and butterfly wings on paper


xo.