Grace the face!

Hi! Here's what I've been doing since the last post:

Grace Oni Smith visited the studio a few weeks back to pose for some sketches and photos that will help me in the run up to the painting I will be creating of her in a Pre Raphaelite inspired portrait.

I want to get used to drawing her face and I have really enjoyed putting down the lines and shapes that create her unique looks. In fact I can totally see how one person can become a muse; if they have that certain something which makes it a pleasure to draw them, and also sparks the imagination!

We used some well known images as points of reference, the object being to create poses that embodied a classicly feminine ideal. As a trans woman, Grace is still a challenge to the popular perception of femininty even in this day and age, and one of the things we want to achieve is a strong provocative/sensual image that will get people asking themselves questions. 

 The Rose leaf by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

 

It's easy to see what a strong resemblance Grace has to a Pre Rapheaelite stunner. It's this strength of features which first inspired me to work with her, and lends itself so well to the project.

Pre Raphaelite work brings to mind sumptuous images of women, romantic scenes and sensuality. I think using this style of art is a good way to translate Grace's story to a wider audience. In other art work exploring transgender issues there is little scope for celebrating femininity without going down the full on route on par with traditional drag. Or on the flipside being very serious about the issue. 

Amanda Lepore by David LaChapelle

 

With our Pre Raphaelite vision we get do the dressing up and extreme glamour (see my make up post 'Smoke and Mirrors' for more on this), but we also get a chance to talk about trans gender in style that allows for sensitivity and sensuality. 

As part of my research into the style and ideas behind creating a Pre Raphaelite portrait I went to visit the Edward Burne Jones exhibition at the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight last week. 

 

Burne Jones was one of the biggest names in the Pre Raphaelite circle and one of its most successful. It's probable that even if you don't know his name you will probably have seen one of his paintings at some point, or even one of his stained glass windows.

The show 'The Drawings of Edward Burne Jones' runs until January next year and showcases a selection of drawings too fragile for permanant display. 

Many of the models in this exhibition had a certain androgenous aspect. this blurred line of gender works well for our project

 

It was wonderful to get up close and personal to the delicate pencil work. His preparatory studies of his models are so complete and refined. They offer a sense of strength but are produced in the most sensitive way (a balance I hope to acheive with my work on Grace).

A preparatory study of a zephyr for the painting Sponsa di Libano, shows the soft detailed application of chalk. Something I later tried to emulate in my drawings of Grace...

I'd reccommend a visit to Port Sunlight any day and especially the Lady Lever Art Gallery. It is a hidden gem containing a multitude of goodies that you can easily spend a day getting lost in.

Next post; As we put together ideas for the narrative for the portrait I interview Grace to explore her daily life as a drag/burlesque performer and trans woman.

For more images from the photo session and examples of drawings check out my Facebook Page :)

The PreRaphaelites: Roadtrip recollections No.2

The Beloved, Dante Gabriel Rossetti

My Dad took me to a gallery when I was very little and we stood gazing at a painting of a glamourous woman for some time. He pointed out the model's deep red long hair. I was transfixed. I loved the fact something so simple and lovely could capture my Dad's imagination. 

I didn't know it at the time but I was looking at a PreRaphealite work; probably my first foray into the world of pin up girls. Of course these Victorian models didn't have the cheeky knowing smile of an Elvgren or the Hollywood styles of a Vargas, but they were glamorous and untouchable all the same, with their own particular brand of beauty.

I've loved the PreRaphaelites ever since that moment, and my roadtrip to Liverpool was based around seeing as many of the original works as I could.

I began at the Alice In Wonderland Exhibition at the Tate. I had a vague memory of Lewis Carroll knowing the PRB's. It turns out he, Rosseitti and Holman Hunt were good aquaintances, Lewis, a keen photographer took pictures of the Rossetti family.

There I also saw Rossetti's painting, The Beloved. I've always enjoyed this work because of it's pseudo exotic appeal. It's been read in many ways over the years; some seeing the inclusion of the black boy in the foreground as racsit. Others recognising that Rossetti, a keen suporter of anti slavery, was possibly using the figure as a means of support towards the cause. There is also a mixed race woman in the background, Fanny Eaton, a popular model to the PreRaphaelites and their asscociates. 

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The Walker Art Gallery was next on the list; I was lucky enough to catch a talk about the PreRaphaelites while I was there. I was part of a large group who dutifully carried our fold up chairs with us as we were guided from one painting to the next. 

 The Martyr, John Everet Millais

Some of the tidbits I learnt were: Millais painting, The Martyr (another favourite of mine) was  part of a much larger painting at the start of it's life. The original picture showed the martyr of Solway, so called because she refused to recognise the Church of Scotland (so they very Christianly chained her to a rock to be swallowed by the tide) naked, about to be saved by a knight. She brazenly looking directly at her rescuer.

Victorian audiences were outraged! Millais cut the offending figure away from the work and clothed her, creating the smaller work you can see above.The proof can be seen in this Xray:

We were also treated to examples of the traditional Victorian painting which had become the Royal Academy's norm back the the first half of the 1800's; sentimental muted images always two thirds dark one third light, a hangover from Sir Joshua Reynolds who the PRB nicknamed 'Sir Sloshula'. 

 The Strawberry Girl, Sir Joshua Reynolds 

It was the PreRaphaelites mission to change this style, taking inspiration from nature, medieval art and poetry. A great representation of this being Millais Isabella.

Issabella, John Everet Millais

Here we saw, bright colours, distorted perspective, rampant symbolism and a truth to nature. Quite refreshing. I enjoyed working through the story with the guide. Basically, the guy offering his blood orange to the girl is in for a stormy ride; her brothers on the opposite side of the table don't agree with the romance and eventually kill him. Isabella finds his body, cuts his head off and plants it in a pot of basil to keep it safe, watering it with her tears. It's all there if you look...

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I then rounded off my roadtrip by travelling to the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight. This place is a well hidden treasure box! The village is chocolate box perfection and nestled between the quiet timber framed houses is a gallery filled with art goodies!

Work from the symbolists, asthetics and PreRaphaelites fill the walls, while glorious white marble figures fill the two staute halls.

I was really looking forward to seeing Rossetti's The Blessed Damozel but it was being exhibited on loan to Paris. However I did find a Rossetti I never knew existed, A Christmas Carol;

I recognise that hair ornament as worn by many other Rossetti girls, including one of the musicians from the Bower Medow, housed at Manchester Art Gallery. It was a real treat to find this gem, especailly as it was hidden below some stairs and I might have missed it if it weren't for the fab gallery staff! 

I had a great time on my roadtrip, I saw A LOT of art, not only PreRaphaelite but many amazing works which would be too many to mention here, all housed in these wonderful public galleries. It's worth remembering that our history and culture are only a visit away waiting to be explored!