New art project part 3: Smoke and Mirrors

Tuesday saw the next stage of my new project with burlesque/drag and professional make up artist Grace Oni Smith. 

Planned as a skills swap session, I was going to draw her in preparation for her Pre Raphaelite style portrait and she was going to show me her make up ideas for the painting. (To find out more behind this project about transgender femininity take a look at past posts)

The thing was I hadn't counted on how much work goes into creating a drag persona. Cue almost 2 hours of make up application as Grace, using Rossetti paintings for reference (particularly Bocca Baciata as seen below), slowly transformed herself into one of the Victorian glamour girls.

It was fascinating to watch, and I'll take you through the many stages right now to give you a taste of how the transformation happened.

Lets start with a before shot like they do on QVC. Here we see the lovely Grace sans any make up and incidentally any eyebrows (I'll come back to this in a bit). She is sporting this seasons must have,  the make up pashmina (for keeping you glamorously warm while applying). I gotta get me one of those! 

Here is Grace's make up, this is just a small part of the many drawers full to the brim with foundations, powders, creams unguents and glosses. To a make up fanatic like me, this was Aladdin's cave!

Primer: Throughout the afternoon, I saw many comparison between applying make up and the painting of a picture onto canvas. Just like preparing a canvas, the skin must be primed. And this is drag, not your average make up so it's important to use heavy duty stuff. This was a silicone based primer, which takes other make up on top very well and holds it in place.

One of the mantra's from the afternoon was 'Blend, blend and then blend again!' Here Grace blends her primer in.

OK, it's not as bad as it looks, this is actually the contouring that was drawn on before it was blended. As you can see the shadow (a dark concealer for dark skin tones) was painted onto the hollows and dips of the face and around the jaw line. The purpose is to create the illusion of sculpting the face. Just like painting, you 'knock back' the darker areas to create shape.

This is TV stick, a make up used for television, or as Grace pointed out TV=Transvestite, this is a favourite for drag queens as it has such strong coverage. I think this was used for highlighting, which you can see...

...here! Already, a more defined look is coming through. Grace took great care to sculpt her nose, giving it a streamlined and straight look similar to a Rossetti model, and also highlighted the centre of the forehead as she explained a domed forehead is more feminine. Whereas shading pushes areas back, highlighting brings them forward. If you want and area to stand out, highlight it!

Once blended together very carefully with a sponge (which btw is NOT good for day to day make up as it really pushes the product into the skin. It is however wonderful for drag and theatrical make up for that very reason) translucent powder was applied all over, then as can be seen here, MORE shading, this time with powder. This was followed by more highlighting in powder also. The reason was to really create an intensified look.

Next is eyebrows. Remember I said I'd tell you more about the eyebrows? Grace recently shaved hers off, and not for the first time. She explained brows act as a boundary to where make up can be applied and taking them away gives you the opportunity to alter the structure of the face. This is a woman dedicated to her craft (it'd be a cold day in hell I ever waved goodbye to my brows). I could totally see what she meant. By having no brows she had the chance to create whatever shape or line or absence of line she wanted. In order to achieve a Pre-Raphaelite style, Grace drew on a high arched brow in a blonde pencil. Using feathery strokes to create the illusion of hairs. Again, this is very similar to painting brows for portraiture.

Now it's on to the make up most women would be familiar with, the pretty bit, the eyes. After using a windscreen wiper action in the socket with a taupe colour, Grace applied a sheer mineral powder of green and pink on the lids. The colours were chosen to emulate those found on the Pre-Raphaelite women. Colours which helped to give them an ethereal look.

A bit of mascara and the eyes are done. Deceptively natural and simple but still defined. A little tip Grace passed on at this point was that you should always work on the feature you want to be your focal point first. This allows you to work around it and create a balanced look.

TEA BREAK! 

For this look Grace decided to just use a dark neutral lip liner and left the centre bare as her own lips are quite dark naturally. Just a touch of balm was added to give them luster.

At this point I asked if Grace was always called upon to do her fellow queens make up when performing, but interestingly she answered that most drag queens prefer to get ready alone without disturbances (just like me and my friend Olivia). She called this process of transformation 'coaxing the lady out'. I think that is a gorgeous and provocative way of describing the process.

After a soft peachy blusher was added to the cheek bones, dots of glimmery pigment powder were added to the highest points of the face and then softly blended in to give luminosity.

The look was completed by a cascade of raven curls. This isn't the wig we will use for the portrait but it does give an idea of how the finished look will be. Words we used to describe the Pre-Raphaelite paintings we visited at Manchester Art Gallery certainly spring to mind here: Sensual, strong, luminous and soft.

Make up used to create this look included high quality brands such as Illamasqua and MAC right through to Rimmel, Sleek and theatrical make up. It just goes to show top names do not always have to be used exclusively to create a high quality finish, although years of training and practice do help. It might be worth sliding back to the before photo here, just so you can see how utterly powerful artifice can be. Grace has totally created a different persona inspired by the iconic beauties of Pre-Raphaelite art.

As she applied the many stages of make up Grace's whole demeanour changed. She became more fabulous, more energised and more expressive. This was truly an example of someone who uses make up as an extension of their personality, and it was mesmerizing to witness.

I never did get around to sketching her as we ran out of time, so join us next time as we take the next step along our Pre-Raphaelite adventure, challenging conventional ideas about beauty and femininity...

Work included in Nyx!

 
I got invited to include some of my work in the next issue of Nyx journal, a publication of critical theory, politics and art, funded by Goldsmiths and available online and in print from bookshops around London.

The theme for Nyx Issue 8 is 'Skin', quite apt don't you think? I have seen the final proof and it looks fabulous! The launch is 10th May.

http://nyxnoctournal.org/

New art project part 2: Something about Grace...

Last week myself and Grace Oni Smith, visited Manchester Art Gallery to view some of the Pre-Raphaelite works there in preparation for the new art piece based on her. (find out about this spectacular lady in my last post: New art project: A date with Grace)

More specifically, we went to perv at the lovely Pre-Raphaelite models who take pride of place in many of the paintings. These lovely gals are to be the inspiration for my portrait of Grace, a stunning transgender woman who put me in mind of the Victorian pin ups; Something about Grace was niggling me for ages after I first met her. Then weeks later while waiting for the bus it hit me. Not the bus....a thought! Grace reminds me of Jane Morris. She is tall and willowy with strong features and dark hair. Was it the shape of her nose, the placement of her lips? I'm not sure but that similarity fueled my ideas and now here we are staring dreamily at Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Bower Meadow. 

Detail from the Bower Meadow

'Look at her nose!' Grace said running a well manicured finger down her own work of art, her newly refurbished schnoz (not long tweaked by a nose job). 'It's me!'. It's true, looking at any of the Pre-Raphaelite girls especially Rossetti's, it's easy to find elements that ring true with Grace's features.

Pre nose job, Grace is still reminiscent of a Pre-Raphaelite stunner!

The Victorian models were painted as ideals of femininity. Yet it's interesting to note many of the women who found acclaim through their modelling were originally a bit, how can I put it, odd looking for the fashions of the time. It was the artists' vision and ideas which helped to open society's mind and soon had the art crowd knocking down the doors to celebrate these unique women.

Far from claiming that vision as my own I want to use the Pre-Raphaelite ideal as a platform to air Grace's story and challenge our society's views on femininity. Using two of my favourite things artifice and theatrics I want to stage a Pre-Raphaelite style scene with Grace as the icon and muse.

Lots of things need to be taken into consideration for this piece: Story, styling, symbolism, pose and paint technique to name but a few. But during our visit to the gallery, Grace and I were most involved in looking at the details in the paintings; the beautiful way hands and shoulders were showcased; the models never really revealing much but still oozing sensuality and fierce femininity.

Joli Coeur by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is one of the paintings we went to see at Manchester Art Gallery. This small and intimate picture has pin up girl written all over it! Looking like she just threw her jacket on to open the front door to the milkman this minx embodies the Pre-Raphaelite style. Her decolletage hands and wrists are the only flesh on show heightening the eroticism of her pose and expression.

Words which Grace and I used to describe the feel and look of these paintings included:

Luminous

Irredescent

Glossy

Sensual

Strong

Rosy

Soft

Voluminous

Lit from within...

Certainly when looking at works such as Vivien by Frederick Sandys you get a feeling this lady is lit from within. Grace and I spent a good while studying this work. Not only did we like the way she dominated the viewers attention, we were intrigued by the items placed in the painting with her. What did they tell us about her, and what did they symbolize?

In case you're wondering, Vivien here is not a very nice piece of work. She is an evil enchantress from Arthurian legend and this can be backed up by reading the symbols around her. The apple for instance, represents man's fall, the flowers she toys with are poisonous Daphne and the all obliterating Opium Poppy. Teamed with her aloof  look, I think she's best kept at arms length

 

We discussed possible items to be placed within Grace's portrait and played around with the ideas of the Star of David and menorah to symbolize her Jewish faith and upbringing and butterfly motifs as used to reference transformation and transgender. But I feel the items need to be cohesive so maybe placing Grace as a mythical/historical character who shares similar cross references of transformation and strength might work too. This needs to be looked into further. One thing I really want to do is create something that references Pre-Raphaelites but is still contemporary, so I definitely want to put modern items and references in with the classic styling.

Grace was inspired by the clothes and faces we saw and has already begun to plan her look. Being a professional make up artist I know she will come up with something striking and spot on. I've asked her to keep me posted with any experiments she does and I will post them up here to share with you. You can see an example of Grace's fabulous work in this video for Tranarchy. She certainly isn't afraid of a little lipstick put it that way:

I think the next step in this project will be to get some drawings of Grace done, so I can get used to representing her face, and start to experiment with poses and ideas, kind of like brainstorming with pictures. This will be a good chance gather our ideas and work with what we have already thought about. I'll let you know how we get on next time...

New art project: A date with Grace

We met over a make up counter, I looked up and gasped. 'I love your eyebrows!' I said.

'Thanks, I'm trying to channel Liz Taylor' she replied. It was the beginning of something fabulous, the meeting of two minds, the beginning of a new art project!

Grace is a stunner, tall and slender with striking features and raven hair: She is a burlesque performer, drag artiste and professional make up artist. All these things tick my boxes and excite me! With my work exploring themes of femininity I couldn't miss the opportunity to work with her and I knew I wanted to paint her!

We met up some time later to chat about ideas at Manchester's Richmond Tea Rooms. Over a civilized afternoon tea I asked Grace what make up meant to her. The answer to this simple question gave me a candid insight into her life and, as a transgender woman, it helped to explain what makes Grace who she is. She once told me 'I'm an open book' so with her blessing I will transcribe her story in brief here to help set the scene...

As a child growing up in a small town she knew she was different from the other boys in school but she wasn't like the girls either (one sweet story she told me about was, when asked by her teacher what she wanted to be when she grew up she answered "a mermaid"). As a teen she began to experiment with make up to explore her identity. In a small town a boy wearing make up couldn't help but stick out like a sore thumb and her increasingly individual style soon began to get attention.Unfortunately it wasn't the best attention; getting beaten up and being verbally abused soon became the norm on an everyday basis.

Some people might have tried to conform to stop the bullying, but Grace being the free spirit she is made her appearance more provocative, goth like and severe. At this point in her life make up became her armor. The more she wore the more it stated, stay the f*ck away from me! It was her mental shield, yet ironically it was also the very thing which drew attention to her in the first place.

Make up however was to be Grace's key to success. After beginning a fashion course at college her make up got noticed once more but this time people were asking why she wasn't a make up artist, her skills were amazing! It was then she took up make up seriously and studied it. Her work was so good she landed a role as make up artist to The Irrepressibles on their world tour.

Now living in Manchester Grace continues to work as a professional make up artist. She also performs regularly at nights such as Bollox and the soon to open Cha Cha Boudoir with her brand of glamorous drag/burlesque. This type of performance is a chance to create characters and embody another person but it isn't about escapism, Grace says that it allows her to hold up a magnifying glass to herself and invite others to do the same. It is empowering and joyful. I feel it is her way of taking control. In this way, make up is now an extension of her personality and an act of liberation. It is exactly this philosophy that I stand by and try to celebrate in my own art work!

Grace's strong looks put me in mind of Pre-Raphaelite models, those women with the towering necks, voluptuous mouths and abundant hair. I knew this was going to be our starting point. If you've read my blog before you will know that I am a huge Pre-Raphaelite fan and have often put forward my theory that those paintings depicted one of the first brand of pin up girl. Those women are painted as uber versions of themselves, with heightened sexuality and feminine power. In many cases as goddesses and femme fatales. 

I feel this will be an interesting platform to use in my painting of Grace. I also want to reference the Pre-Raphaelite's use of symbolism. I would like to use classic and modern symbolism to tell Grace's story and create a picture that is both a mix of Victorian and contemporary in flavour. I am aiming to paint something that will ultimately question the ideals of beauty and what it means to be a female in the eyes of the world in general. This project will bring up issues of identity, objectification, sexuality and empowerment to name but a few.

With our of  love of theatrics and artifice I think this is going to be a really exciting project! Keep posted to find out more as we work step by step through the process. Next post will be about our visit to Manchester Art Gallery where we met some of the Pre-Raphaelite girls face to face!

Paper Dolls

Do you remember those paper dolls you got as a kid, the one's you cut out and then made clothes for? They came with a little stand and a choice of outfits....

Well, following my research earlier this year into costume (see Playing Dress Up and Hollywood Costume at the V&A) I decided to create my own paper dolls.

I wanted to use a subject matter that excites me and gives me the chance to focus on costume and theatrics. So I chose to make burlesque paper dolls, dolls that had all the glitz and glam of a Hollywood starlet, but with a cheeky twist that put the emphasis on taking the clothes off rather than dressing up.

My first choice was to create a doll of a vintage performer and someone that would give me the opportunity to play around with ideas without infringing upon their copyright.

I immediately thought of Noel Toy, a beautiful lady I have painted in the past and one who still intrigues me. Miss Toy was a Chinese/American burlesque performer from the 1940's and has an exotic glamour all of her own.

My design for the my paper doll based on Noel Toy. I had to really think about arm placement, as arms held away from the body would easily bend and get weakened. After lots of playing around with ideas I chose to have her hands on her hips

I began by researching the costumes Noel used to perform in, but quickly decided to add my own take on what I could do with them in order to create the idea of a full character doll. For instance I definitely wanted to recreate the Chinese style robe as seen in the video of Noel's act:

In this film you can also see her using small fans as props but I decided to enlarge these fans and create them as full scale burlesque Chinese fans in order to use them as another layer to be removed before the big reveal (images of the fans yet to be uploaded!)

The first garment to dress up/undress my paper doll, this Chinese style robe is based on the one Miss Toy wore for one of her acts, but my design was also inspired by one worn by Claudette Colbert for her role as Cleopatra as seen at the Hollywood Costume Exhibition at the V&A (see below)

I definitely want to represent the 1940's vintage era but also the individual glamour of a Chinese performer, so I am using colours and textures which are evocative and sumptuous.

This was an early design for a second costume based on Chinese style pyjamas, but I quickly abandoned this as it distracted from the idea of recreating one act.

At present I am working on background ideas for the paper doll so that even before cutting out, the piece is a complete work. I am experimenting with ideas of Chinese paper and More updates will be posted as and when. My time in the studio is pretty limited at present so this may be a long project to complete, but one I am thoroughly enjoying! More images of this project and updates as it progresses can be seen on my facebook page

Savage Sisters

Some time ago I began a set of embroideries based on the legend of the Femme Fatale. I worked on them on and off over the year. Skip to now and you can see the finished pieces the Savage Sisters!

This deadly duo are inspired by my love of history and also my interest in the Femme Fatale; I wanted to create the ultimate dangerous and macabre women. Like all the best Femme Fatales they posses a superficial  allure which jars with their true nature.

The pair represent two of histories most violent inventions which changed the world forever, the guillotine and gunpowder.

Both embroideries are stretched and fixed into dark wood frames 8x10 inches and are ready for hanging. Available from www.thegemmaparkerartshop.bigcartel.com

Playing dress up

 

I was very lucky over Christmas and my recent birthday to receive some excellant books as gifts. Each one was something I'd asked for and tie in really well with my obession with costume, dressing up and artifice. You may remember I visited the Hollywood Costume Exhibition at the V&A last month which was really the peak of excitment for a glamour geek like me!

 

To further fuel my (unofficial) investigation into the theme I now own Dressing Marilyn by Andrew Hansford which covers the history of the relationship between Monroe and one of Hollwood's most iconic designers, William Travilla. Travilla was the genius behind the outfits in two of Marilyn's career landmarks, the pink dress she wore to sing Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend and the white dress which blows up about her waist in The Seven Year Itch, not to mention dozens of other outfits throughout her film career.

An interesting snippet from the book tells how Marilyn was orignally to wear a Travilla designed diamond encrusted bikini to sing Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend complete with a long tail of diamonds a diamond headress diamond choker and fishnet tights. However the scandal about Marilyn's nude calander shot came out as the film was being made and the studio decided she needed covering up not displaying more flesh! 'Cover her up, we are not selling her body'.

In a matter of hours Travilla came up with the exquisite pink dress of silk satin with it's huge bow and full length gloves which has since become so iconic and copied by many! The only things to survive from the original diamond costume were the choker and bracelets which Marilyn wore with her pink creation for Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend. Can you ever imagine her wearing anything else?

I really reccommend this book if you are interested in the old Hollywood and the fashion of the era. It also gives a different angle on Marilyn's life; one about professionalism and hard work and the clothes and her input into their design speak volumes about the woman and the legacy she has left behind.

My second great book is Kylie Fashion by Kylie Minogue and William Baker. This weighty tome travels the pop princess's career in a journey of haute couture and costume. Beginning with the  humble origins of a large brimmed sun hat with her bubble perm piled through to the first tentative steps with designers on videos such as Hand On Your Heart, right through to her triumphant comeback partly thanks to a pair of minute gold hotpants and a white slashed jumpsuit. 

This is a woman who now thinks nothing of wearing a costume of full feather headdress, making it difficult to walk, heavy plumes and corset so tight it almost prevents her from singing. This was the case during her Showgirl Tour. The corset was so tight she had to be cut out of it every night!

It's fair to say Kylie's style decisions have been part of her success. Working with top fashion houses and also up and coming designers fresh from fashion school. Not only has she helped to put new names on the map she has been a malable creative energy shaped and reshaped by fashion pushing ever onwards.

My final books of decadent design are Pin Up Girls of World War Two and Glamorous Movie Stars of the 1950's by Tom Tierney, both of which are books of paper dolls. I cannot express how beautiful Tierney's drawings are. He makes his creations look so effortless! On one page you may be treated to Audrey Hepburn in her beatnik blacks the next is an exquisite reproduction of her iconic red dress from Funny face made to measure Audrey's sylph like frame. It's like having a personal wardrobe for each famous star featured between the pages and each illusration is instantly recognisable. I have poured over the drawings remembering classic films and moments brought beautifully to life thanks to Toms eye for detail.

All these books have one very strong thing in common; they each show how profound costume and appearance can be. They show how something we may take for granted can leave a lasting impression and how the way we present ourselves can change our destiny and create our future. It can define and develop us as people and make us into something more.

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While we are on the subject of books I simply had to also share this gem! Although not strictly related to the theme, it does cover old Hollywood. I had to mention Bette and Joan, The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine.

 

This is a book that you can't put down. Cleverly written and never shy to lay down the facts I feel I now know our dear Bette Davis and Joan Crawford like old friends. From their early years as actress and dancer, the book covers every step of their eventful careers and their star crossed relationship. For two women who swore they had NOTHING in common the similarities in their lives are striking. Both leading ladies with HUGE egos and ravenous sex drives, bitchiness does not cut it when describing the battle between them for supremacy as the ultimate Movie Queen. Long live them both.