Going to the Vogue Ball

Waiting in the long queue that weaved from under the railway arch and spilled out onto the street, my friend and I were relieved that other people had 'made an effort'. In fact, we were stood behind an Egyptian Goddess in all her golden glory which was a good giveaway, and as we got nearer to the door we watched as an 80's leather clad dream complete with a perfect teal bob, sashayed her way to the line. We were in the queue for Manchester's Vogue Ball and Manchester itself did not disappoint, turning up in all her grandeur to witness the event. 

We had been invited by choreographer, dancer and producer of the night, Darren Pritchard in order for me to to see for myself what he described as the 'inside of your head' and to specifically see Manchester's House of Ghetto who I will be doing some art work with (See my research posts about The Hidden Pin Up).

Rikki Beadle-Blair hosted looking superb in fishnets and denim hot-pants and whipped up the crowd; 'By the end of the night you will all have tapped into that little 15 year old black gay boy from Harlem. In a time before there was ever such a thing as a black president (now any tw*t can do it), when he could only find his true voice, his true family and true identity in the vogue ballroom'. We went wild and the show began...

To sum up the feel of  Voguing, it's about inclusivity, expression, creativity and attitude, it isn't a dance contest or a beauty pageant. Those little bitches from America's Next Top Model would get flattened, these dancers and performers were the real deal. There were a number of bouts themed with different titles, 'Solo' 'Icons' 'Sex Siren' 'Fantasy'... each house taking to the catwalk to own it using a combination of catwalk, costume, dance, burlesque and drag. 

 The House of Ghetto pay homage to Josephine Baker

The 'Sex Siren' bout included a Victoria's Secret model and Barbie and Ken and The House of Ghetto took it old school with an homage to Josephine Baker complete with a golden banana skirt and a pretty x-rated way of sharing the fruit. It was so exciting to see this icon being nodded to after looking into black pin up history and writing about her just a couple of weeks back.

It was also great to see my past muse and model, the ever gorgeous Grace Oni Smith, claiming the stage as she performed with her house The House of Decay in an iconic group dance. 

One of the stand out performances of the night was when the panel of judges couldn't choose between The House of Suarez or The House of Decay to win the 'Realness' bout and they ended up dancing it out against each other. It was full on fierce! The House of Decay deservedly won but both contestants were amazing and what really caught my eye was that despite the intense gestures and savage energy between the two, they began and ended the bout holding hands and hugging one another. That summed up the night for me.

Keeping it raw, The House of Ghetto danced to Missy Elliot

But to get to the real meat of the matter, the 'Choreography' bout at the end of the night was where House Of Ghetto reigned supreme, or they should have, narrowly missing out to Liverpool's House of Lipa. This was where the all black female group took control of the catwalk and blew the crowd away. Dancing to Missy Elliot they were stunning. Slick sexy confident and totally on point, I couldn't sit still watching them, the performance was amazing. Everyone else seemed to feel the same way because, as the judges tried to decide who should win that bout, a chant of Ghe-tto! Ghe-tto! Ghe-tto! took hold. They were robbed.

The sights and sounds and the energy in the room were incredible. I've been to burlesque and drag nights, but this was something else, it worked on a whole other level, it felt more raw and immediate. And as promised, while Madonna streamed over the speakers and the lights went up, at the end of the night each person was tuned into their inner 15 year old black gay boy and we felt fabulous!

My current work up at Cornerhouse

Grace poses in front of her finished portrait

It's been just over two weeks since my work celebrating transgender femininty inspired by the Pre Raphaelites has been on show at Cornerhouse as part of Cornerhouse Projects.

 

The private view went really well with a great turn out including friends family and members of the transgender and gay community. Grace arrived with her mum in tow and I'm proud to say got a little emotional as I took her round all the pieces. 

One of the main things I wanted to do in this project was focus on Grace as a person and show her in a way that would highlight her strengths and uniqueness. I wanted to show Grace as an individual, not as a transgender character. Even though this project involved the use of drag, as I have learned, it is just another way of exploring who you are, and I think certainly in this case it helped to emphasise the softer side of Grace, a side she doesn't often see in herself.

Some of the chalk studies of Grace in Pre Raphaelite drag and with no make up at all. In both cases her unique femininity shine through

 The show runs alongside the work of Layla Sailor whose beautiful work also explores female iconography

People have responded really well telling me it's great to see art that has a positive message and I'm really glad to have had the opportunity to explore a subject I knew so little about with such an interesting and lovely muse. I feel that if this has helped to melt away just a little of the stigma or preconceptions society holds about being transgender then that would be a great acheivement. 

Grace in her gilded frame with butterfly details. I named the portrait 'La Donna Della Grazia' meaning The Woman Of Grace as a tribute to Dante Gabriel Rossetti who was and is a constant inspiration

The exhibition is up until 9th Sept at the Cornerhouse cafe/bar Manchester

Grace in the frame!

Yesterday I explained how I was getting the frame I'd designed for Grace's Pre Raphaelite portrait delivered to the studio and it arrived courtesy of Tom the carpenter this afternoon. I absolutely love it! Here it is with the portrait in situ.

As you can see it has a wide flat surface and little roundals in each corner. The roundals are going to have small wooden butterflies placed inside. The butterflies are there to continue the theme of the painting. This being a celebration of transgender femininty, the butterfly is a symbol of transformation and beauty which I think is very fitting.

I based my design on frames that had been designed by Pre Raphaelite artists to enhance their art work and show it off it it's best advantage. Nature; flowers, animals and insects were a usual sorce of inspiration in the symbolism they used.

A detail of the frame for Holman Hunt's The Scapegoat showing Heartsease and Egyptian Palms to reflect the story of the Scapegoat

 

This weekend I will cover the frame in gold metal leaf so it will look something like the frames you can see above. Sumptuous, yet simple and stylised. I think it will look gorgeous! Once again thanks to Tom for making such a wonderful job of my frame. 

 

This work along with several chalk studies of Grace will be exhibited at the Cornerhouse from 31st July next week until 9th Sept. There will be drinks in the bar 6-7pm  on Thursday so come along and say hi and see the finished thing!

Gemma ***

A trip to the framers...

Last week I took a trip to Frames in Didsbury to get some of the chalk studies I've done of Grace Oni Smith framed for the upcoming exhibition at Cornerhouse next week.

 I don't usually frame my work so this was a whole new experience for me. I went in and asked for 'some gold frames please'. I never realised you had to think about cool and warm tones when chosing mounts and frames, and consider colours that would enhance and not overpower the art work. The lady at Frames was so lovely and helped me choose a frame and mount combination that was contemporary but with a nod to the classic style you find in art galleries.

The reason I was so sold on gold is because I am having a frame made specially for my painting of Grace which is inspired by Pre Raphaelite designs, and I want this golden theme to continue throughout the work. I got very excited today as I got some photos of how the frame was coming along from Tom the carpenter who is the go to man around Manchester for all your carpentry art needs!

You can't see it yet but it will eventually look like this rough sketch I did.

Like the frames often designed by the Pre Raphaelites to best show off their work, this frame has a symoblic purpose to enhance the message in the painting it will surround. More to tell about this tomorrow, as the finished thing is being delivered to the studio. I can't wait to see it and show you!

Gemma***

Girl with a curl, or two

So this week the end finally looks in sight, and I have to say I am loving working on this portriat of Grace Oni Smith my beautiful transgender muse! I really really love this picture! This week I have been finishing off her hands and tattoos and filling in her masses of hair. Nothing says Pre Raphaelite goddess like a head full of glorious tresses.

I enjoy painting hair very much and this was no exception. There's are still a few little highlights and definitons to be added but this crown of curls is the definative statement of the painting. Next to add is the rose in her hair and just a suggestion of clothes (if you know Grace you'll know that's about usual for her. See her perform live if you don't know what I mean!)

I cannot wait for my specially designed frame to be made to finish this piece off once she is fully painted! Now I still have a few drawings to tackle and a trip to the framers for those. So keep posted and remember to put 31st of July in your diaries as this is the opening night for this work Cornerhouse.

More soon...

Gemma***

Exhibiton plans

I think it's about time I shared with you the plans for my current art work. If you've seen this blog before you will have noticed I've been posting updates about my portrait of trans gender beauty Grace Oni Smith, who I've been working with for about a year now.

The finished Pre Raphaelite style portrait along with a selection of studies in chalk will be shown as part of Cornerhouse Projects between July 31st-Sept 9th to coincide with Manchester Pride. You can read the official write up on the website here: http://www.cornerhouse.org/art/art-exhibitions/cornerhouse-projects-gemma-parker-layla-sailor

I'm really excited to show this work in progress (I plan to continue exploring this theme after the dates on show) not least because I am also getting a custom made frame for the main piece made to my own design! It will very much in the Pre Raphaelite style and will further extend the theme of transgender and transformation. I'll share this with you as it is created.

I've got about 6 weeks to finish the portrait, and so far I'm pretty happy with it. Every time I sit in front of it I make about a million little alterations and changes. It's true that spending time away from your work really does allow you see what needs doing. I get about one full day to work on it per week at the moment so I plan on upping that, sticking some Kylie on full blast and making each studio day count!

Here's where I got to last week. I was having awful trouble with her neck the week before but I've managed to see where I was going wrong and put the foundations down for the right shading now. I'm going to put her tattoos in next week so that will be fun too! Can't wait to get going on her hands and all that hair!

Come back next time to see how I get on

Gemma***

We're Born Naked The Rest Is Drag

Last week I went along to one of The Beauty Project events at Selfridges in Manchester; 'We're Born Naked, The Rest is Drag: Identity, Fantasy and Beauty beyond Gender'

Upon reading this title I would have bought myself a ticket and gone along anyway! However the added draw was that Grace Oni Smith, the subject of my current portrait exploring transgender femininity, was one of the guest speakers on a panel consisting of drag queen Cheddar Gawjus (AKA Dr Micheal Atkins) and Dr Sally Hines Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at The University of Leeds.

It was a brilliant talk and gave me me lots think about. Grace spoke from the heart and gave us an insight into her life as a trans gender female. How her discovery of make up was a tool she used not only to transform her appearance but also transform her life.

     
Taking inspiration from strong androgynous role models like Siouxsie Sioux David Bowie Grace Jones and Boy George, a teenage Grace began to experiment with her looks and built a goth persona who wore her make up like armour. Still living as a male in a small rural town, this act of deliberate defiance to the norm brought her much attention, most of it negative resulting in being beaten up for being different.

As the panel explained, gender is something we perceive through learnt roles and behaviour. We copy it from others as we develop and there are certain acceptable characteristics we associate with men and women. However as in Grace's case, these ideals are malleable, they can be played with, broken down and rebuilt into new and sometimes confusing formats that challenge society and make people uncomfortable.

Take for instance this years queen of Eurovision, Conchita Wurst. An undeniably beautiful drag artist who just happens to wear a beard along with her lipstick and wigs. Many people's reaction was one of bewilderment, even disgust; It was too provoking to flaunt both genders at once.

Cheddar Gawgus pointed out that while Conchita was challenging for many people, the fact they were introduced to a new concept of what gender can be was a positive step.

For Grace, her gender is no longer the same issue it once was. As she rather fabulously put it, she is 'a new person'. But it hasn't been easy to get to this positive stage in her life. As an individual of transgender she still scrutinizes her looks on a daily basis and it isn't easy to escape that very marginalised view of what acceptable beauty is in western society.

Cheddar illustrated this perfectly by showing us results of Google searches for 'Beautiful women' and 'Beautiful men'. Both searches showed white young symmetrical flawless faces and slim lithe bodies.This is not a representation of most of the worlds population. Yet so many people strive to attain it or as close to it as possible.

  Grace, Cheddar and Dr Hines all suggested drag was one of the most powerful ways of subverting our narrow view of beauty and gender and I found this the most interesting aspect of the discussion.

Despite drag making somewhat of a comeback in mainstream society thanks to shows like RuPaul's Drag Race, the idea of what drag can be is still to be fully explored. Traditionally viewed as a man dressing up like a woman to become an extreme character, it was argued drag can actually be a platform for anyone of any gender to play with roles and looks. Women men and people of transgender can all be drag queens or kings. However, sometimes drag doesn't even fit into these roles, as in the case of artists Leigh Bowery and Cindy Sherman. Their use of drag is both surreal and without limits.

It is this total freedom to play with the carefully constructed boundaries we put in place as we grow, and the unobtainable ideals which we try to achieve in everyday life which makes drag an awesome device to navigate your personal identity.

It really made me think. As the title to the show suggested ('We're born naked, the rest is drag' a wonderful quote by Ru Paul), we all indulge in drag to some degree to create our outward persona. From applying a dash of mascara to choosing which shoes to wear we are constructing the story we choose to tell each day. Drag, in it's fullest sense is just an extreme form of this. If you chose to ignore the learned patterns that keep our identities in check and felt free to wear anything and act in any way, how would you choose to leave the house this morning? 

I'm so glad I went to this event, I enjoyed every minute and I'm sure I'll be applying these ideas to future art work, and maybe next time I sit down at the dressing table too!

 

Gemma***

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Exactly a week after seeing glamorous bearded transvestite Conchita Wurst win the Eurovison Song Contest, its now International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The timing is excellent don't you think?

To celebrate this important date I'd like to share with you the latest progress of my painting of trans gender stunner Grace Oni Smith. 

Grace's portrait as a Pre Raphaelite lady is really beginning to take shape now. I have been working on building up the contours of her face whilst keeping the many variations of skin tone and colour in order to give her that fresh glowing from within look that the Victorian muses had. 

But unlike those girls of yesteryear Grace is a drag queen and was in Pre Raphaelite drag when I photographed her. So I have also been working on getting the balance of classic beauty and stage diva just right. I want Grace to shine through but I also feel her make up is an important extension of who she is so I want that slightly over the top quality to add impact. 

As you can see in the photo above I test out lots of mixes of colour on a separate sheet before applying the paint, to make sure I've got what I want. You can also see the reference photo I'm working from and a glimpse of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting, 'The Beloved' fixed above the canvas. This painting sprang to mind as I was working, as one of the models in the background has a similar pose and gaze to Grace.

One of the biggest visual anchors that both Pre Raphaelite women and contemporary drag queens share is big kissable swollen lips! 

I've been working quite intensively on getting Grace's smackers just right as she naturally has a very Pre Raphaelite look to her mouth.

 I think I'll make them slightly more red, but I'm pleased with how bee stung they currently look! For me, getting the right attitude and look to the features is the main thing when painting someone. I always strive to capture who that person is and this is the most time consuming part, but I love every minute!

I'm back in the studio on Tuesday so join me soon to find out more

Until then, I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend and a great International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia :)

Gemma***

Pre Raphaelite portrait, glowing from within

Just a quick update about what I got done in the studio this week. I had a lovely day putting the first washes of colour onto Grace's face for her Pre Raphaelite portrait. This is a particular technique I use when painting flesh in acrylic. I start by applying the lightest tone I can see and then building up different shades in washes and blending them. Eventually the 'skin' will build up a full coverage but it will still have depth and the various colours, highlights and low lights will shine through. I'm not sue this is how the Pre Rahaelites would have applied their paint but it's very good for creating a 'glowing from within' look which is definitely something the Victorian glamour girls had in the original Pre Raphaelite works of art.

This technique is also a little bit like applying a base of make up: primer, foundation, contouring and blush. Quite apt when you remember that our girl Grace is a professional make up artist!

The last post about this project got some great comments and feedback on Facebook! I thought I'd share some of them with you as you can see in the picture above. My favourite comment has to be from Grace herself, 'I never knew that there was such a resemblance until Gemma took me to see some of Rossetti's paintings. I must say that seeing the similarities has helped me to feel more at ease with my looks and see the soft features as well as the strong ones'.

That makes me so happy as if fulfills part of this projects brief by sending out positive messages about being transgender and celebrating your differences!
I'll keep you posted as the work continues

Gemma***

A Pre Raphaelite stunner in the flesh and on canvas!

I am loving being back in the studio! At the moment Tuesday is studio day! As I mentioned in my last studio post I was going to share with you guys the Pre Raphaelite photo shoot I did with Grace Oni Smith my wonderful and gorgeous trans gender model and muse! I was SO excited doing this shoot with her as she looked absolutely amazing and it felt like all my dreams had come true as I had a true Pre Raphaelite stunner sitting right in front of me! Thanks again to Grace for being so great to work with and collaborating on costume and styling. (If you'd like to know more about how we put this look together let me know and I'll write about it)

These photos were taken in Grace's Manchester flat, so you'll have to excuse the kitchen background (not very Pre Raphaelite!) The poses were inspired by the paintings, Bocca Baciata, (The Mouth that has been kissed) and The Blessed Damozel both by Rossetti

 I had chosen the flowers Grace holds in the photos especially to reflect an aspect of her story and personality. The pink rose in her hair literally means 'grace', while the Daffodils, a Spring flower, represent rebirth and renewal and overcoming the hard times of Winter, a fitting sentiment since Grace had just weeks earlier undergone her gender reassignment surgery. The Gladioli posed a problem as they had failed to open in time for the shoot but in theory they represented strength of character. (I have since learned Gladioli are an August birth flower, and Grace was born in August! One of those flukey coincidences)

As you can see from the photos we arranged a selection of items in the foreground. These included, a magnifying glass, a mirror, some of the daily medication Grace takes, and make up brushes. Each item was chosen to represent a part of Grace's life and follow the Pre Raphaelite tradition of placing corresponding items in a painting to tell us something about the person we are looking at. (See the apple for instance in Bocca Baciata above, she's a temptress, a modern Eve waiting to lure you in!)

Now I have images to work with I am unsure about whether to use these items or not, or at least how to use them, I think this is something that will became apparent as I continue working on the project.

I've begun my first painting from the shoot  and in my last studio post I promised you guys I'd also share how my experiment on canvas board was going. So here's the scoop!....

I decided I wanted to recreate the feel of one of Rossetti's unfinished paintings, which just happens to be another version of The Blessed Damozel. He often painted the same subject several times, sometimes with slight differences. Here you can see the Damozel's gaze, hand placement and flowers are different to the original.

I find this unfinished painting more exciting than the actual finished version! I love how we can see the textured background and the raw edges to Rossetti's work. This is also my reason for painting Grace in this way, because as yet, she herself is unfinished, a work in progress, with raw edges.

To replicate the textured background I began this piece by painting the entire canvas board a deep ultra marine blue mixed with a little yellow to bring out a green tinge. Once this was dry I painted over it with gold. I am using acrylic paints instead of oils as I can't stand working with oil paint and hate waiting around for it to dry. So I will be trying my best to get the softness and depth with my own paints. The blue paint shows though the thin washes of gold and creates a metallic gold/green that looks mustard or deep green depending on the light and will contrast nicely with the softness of the skin and hair.

Once the gold layers (I put two thin coats on ) had dried then came the hard part of placing my image onto the board. I would usually do this by having a scaled down version to the exact dimensions and use a grid to transfer the outline onto the unpainted canvas. But for this work it felt right to do as much by eye as possible. This proved extra hard as I found it really difficult to draw out Grace's outline to the correct size! In the end I placed sheets of baking paper (a cheap alternative to tracing paper, plus you can use whatever size you need!) over the the board and drew onto that. It took a few attempts but I finally got the size and shapes I wanted.

I cut out the cartoon, as this kind of preparatory drawing is called, and placed it where I wanted it on the board securing it with tape. I then drew around this with chalk to fix where I wanted the image to stay. 

The gold paint makes it very hard to see where you are working and other acrylic paints do not sit on it well. I would have to build up lots of layers to get a purchase on it, so instead I filled in the outlines I'd created with white primer! Once I'd done a couple of coats I had a Grace shaped cloud floating on the canvas board.

This reminds me of how the Pre Paphaelites achieved their vivid colours by painting onto a white background, so I feel this is a good start! Next I had to add some loose detail as a guide line so I went back to the cartoon I'd done and drew on it's reverse. I then taped it back into position over the white shape and drew over the lines to transfer them onto the canvas board.

Now I have everything set up to begin painting Grace onto the board. I have begun by blocking in her hair for now. I have put in roughly the pattern of her curls and I will finish her hair after I have finished painting her face.

I'd run out of time by this point so I'll be continuing when I return this week. So far I am loving working on this painting! I am hoping to get some more free time in the next few weeks so will be able to make more progress. I'll be documenting the whole thing so will let you see how things are coming along!

Gemma***