At last I can now share the full series of my latest work, All at Sea with you! Here are a few examples of photos taken over the weekend of my paintings in their customised frames! To see the full set click on my website www.gemmaparker.co.ukHERE
To the Bitter End, watercolour on paper, shells and charms on customised wood frame 09
The Devil to Pay, acrylic on artist board with hemp rope 09
Rainbow Watch
Some of you may remember that a while back I began a portrait of my friend's cat which I have been working on between other projects. Here is where Rainbow is up to now:
I've recently been working on her eyes which were very unique in shape but I think I've managed to capture them. Next I intend to add more definition to her nose mouth and markings. Rainbow was very fond of sitting in bags and boxes, an hobby of many a feline, including my own. However, no-one illustrates the cat-box relationship quite like Maru the cat, who I am a big fan of! Go Maru!
In Deep Water, watercolour on paper with customised frame 2009
Lots to tell you this week! firstly my collection of new work 'All at Sea' is now on show! I have been documenting the progress of this work for the past few months and it can now be seen in reality at Taurus in Manchester's famous Gay Village until the 31st Oct.Here is the write up:
In the midst of Manchester’s GayVillage a new exhibition of maritime themed art work can be found. But forget the naughty nauticals, this collection of work delivers an emotive set of tales with a splash of sauciness.
Manchester based fine artist Gemma Parker has been inspired by her love of maritime folklore and all things nautical to create her new set of work. Her fascination with vibrant sailor art has been a natural progression from her love of vintage pin up work and burlesque, both of which make an appearance in the selection of new art works.
Taking its cue from nautical slang and its everyday use, All At Sea is a collection of paintings illustrating well known phrases while influenced by traditional sailor tattoos styles and pin ups.
The work takes the viewer on a romantic and melancholic journey featuring lost loves, cruel sirens and shipwrecked sailors.
Using both acrylics and water colours the paintings bridge classic sailor tattoo style with a wistful and dreamy narrative inviting the viewer to embrace the call of the sea with all its beauty and perils.
All At Sea can be seen at Taurus on Canal Street from the 1st - 31st of October. For more information go to www.gemmaparker.co.uk
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Gemma Parker is a fine artist who specialises in the celebration of femininity and the theatrical.
She has exhibited across the UK including ‘Ooh La La’, Britain’s first burlesque inspired art show in Nottingham and been artist in residence for the Sunderland Council art project, ‘What do you think you’re looking at…The Sunniside of burlesque’. She also takes private commissions.
Gemma is also one half of the burlesque double act The Chantilly Belles who were short listed for the best new talent award at the Big Burlesque Bout last year in Birmingham : www.myspace.com/thechantillybelles
Taurus Manchester's Award Winning Bar & Restaurant; 1 Canal Street, Manchester, M1 3HE Tel: 0161 236 4593. Opening hours; Mon - Thurs 12 noon - 11pm, Fri - Sat 12 noon to 1am, Sun 12 noon - 10.30pm
As mentioned in previous posts I have been collecting nautical paraphanalia to customise my frames with including; shells (some from my fab seaside holiday to Broadstairs) miniture anchors and ship wheels and also rope as can be seen on two of the works:
Rack and Ruin, acrylic on artist board with hemp rope 2009
The Devil to Pay, acrylic on artist board with hemp rope 2009
I've also added the real meanings behind each nautical phrase so when you see the show you will also get a bit of maritime history as well as the art work!
Other news:
Buy Art Fairwent brilliantly! It was wonderful to have work on display as part of such a high prestige event. Artists such as Peter Blake and Damien Hirst also had work on show and the whole building looked amazing decked out in original art which was seen by over 5000 visitors during it's three day run!
My three works from my Bon Bons series can be seen along the left hand side of the stall
The Urbis Creatives stand was very impressive and I sold some work. One of my images was also used to represent the stand in the official catalogue. It was a good experience and a very exciting one too!
Show and Tell
Urbis Creatives also has a new exhibition running right NOW called Show and Tell. Members will be showcasing their work for the next three weeks at Urbis in the heart of Manchester. I am showing work from my 'My Baby's Got a Secret' series. Over the exhibition period members will be on hand to talk about their work as the title of the show suggests! Hope to see you there!
Peppermint Pattie 2008 acrylic on canvas30cm x 30cm
I will be taking part in Manchester's hugely successful Buy Art Fair next week! With more than 80 galleries showing the work of over 370 artists all available to buy.
In addition the fair offers a whole host of FREE activities for experienced and novice art collectors to enjoy!
I will be situated on the second floor as part of the Urbis Creatives stall, this will be a fab opportunity for you to come along and see my work up close and maybe treat yourself to a little decadence!
About my work on sale:
Bon Bons is a series of decadent derrières encased in the finest of wrappings. Playfully using the French slang which describes the area between the waist and thighs, this work sees a selection of peachy behinds all themed on sweeties and chocolates. Each painting is enhanced by ice cream colours and sugary titles, and with the range including strawberry fondants to jellybeans, there should be a flavour to tempt anyone's taste buds.
This has been a really successful series and there are only a limited number of Bon Bons left to buy!
Other news:
It's been busy busy busy recently as the deadline for my exhibition of nautical tattoo inspired paitnings draws nearer! The show of select watercolours and acylics will go on show on the 1st Oct at Taurus in Manchester's Gay Village. I'm getting all the bits and pieces finalised at the mo, and even wondering whether I have time to do an extra painting before the show! I've had a new idea for one!BTW the show is to be called 'All at Sea'.
Also I will be showing work at Urbis form the 29th Sept to the 12th Oct. This will as part of a collective exhibition by Urbis Creatives called 'Show and Tell' More info to follow!
Just a quickie this week! Here's a peek at the most recent painting for my nautical pin up series. I'm finding that as I work on it the theme is evolving, it isn't so much about traditional sailor tattoos anymore but heavily inspired by them. It is becoming a more fluid way of getting my ideas down. The theme is still nautical with each image taking it's cue from maritime sayings, but the outside influence is much looser now, I think the point when I was listening to Air in the studio while working and found myself going down a much more personal route really was the turning point.
With this image for instance I am definately getting a Kylie vibe through (probably as I keep listening to Boombox and Made of Glass) but also I have added my fascination with performance here and turned the mermaid into a kind of burlesque performer using japanese rope bondage as well as star pasties.
Other news:
The Chantilly Belles now have the video of our performance at Urbis for the Urbis Creatives launch night up online!
The night which took place earlier this year was to celebrate the launch of the Urbis Creatives website, a platform for the staff of Urbis who have creative projects outside of work. You can see the website HERE.
Urbis Creatives will have our own stall at this years Buy Art Fair to be held at Urbis from the 24th - 27th September. Along with other artists I will be showing and selling orignal artwork as part of one of the largest consumer art exhibitions in the country! More info to follow...
Here's a pictoral update of one of my nautical paintings; All At Sea. I have been really inspired by classic tattoo artists but my main influence has been from photographers such as Madame Yevonde who's work made me think more theatrically and the artists Pierre and Giles who have helped direct my work in a decidedly French and melancholy direction.
Firstly I found that using a tracing of my image really helped with sizing and composition and placement, very much like tattoo artists when designing a piece of tattoo art. It also allowed me to make multiples of the same image.
I found that rather than outlining in ink lastly it really helped to draw the lines in first and then work the colour in. Here you can see the maleble nature of water colour paint. The dense pink on the girl's cheek was applied to a wet field and then spread out and difused.
Yet here the paint has been applied thickly in red to give a more matt look.
Here is the painting almost finished and still very wet. I plan to frame this in an oval frame and customise the frame with nautical paraphanalia. I'm working on several pieces at different stages and will keep you informed on how I'm getting on.
Other News:
I am now Tart of the Month on The Tart Gallery website! You can see examples of my work and I am thrilled to be listed amongst other artists such as the fabulous Angelique Houtkamp who I have covered earlier this year and the retro cool Mitch O Connell:www.thetartgallery.com
New Website:
I am also happy to share with you a new website by a great film maker, Hilary Easter Jones. Hilary was the director and producer of the wonderful film of The Chantilly Belles made for The Lowry's Express Yourself dance exhibition which you can watch HERE. Wynter Productions make educational films for exhibitions and gallery spaces as well as providing bespoke films for artists wishing to promote themselves! www.wynterproductions.co.uk
Reading list:
Last week I was listed as a great read by Erin of Follow the Tide blog. So this week I thought I'd list my top reads as follows:
The Candy Pitch is a great blog with regular profiles of internationl burlesque performers called The Candy Gram. It also posts burlesque news and videos. It's author Kelly DiNardo even did piece about me and my art work and burlesque performing!
Diary of a Vintage Girl is an informative blog about the everyday exploits of pin up model and 1940's lover Fleur de Guerre. She has some great vintage clothing finds and is happy to share her info.
LOVE KYLIE is as you'd expect a blog all about the legend that is Kylie Minogue. It's slick and up to date and full of great pics of the pocket rocket!
Blonde and Red is a lovely blog from Rosanna and is all about her loves; Marilyn Monroe and 50's pin ups included.
So, I've been researching traditional tattoos, vintage flash and tattoo art for the past few months all to get my ideas together for my own vintage sailor tattoo inspired pin up work. I recently discovered the beautiful and striking work of Angelique Houtkamp, the Dutch tattooist and painter who's work is both exciting and inspirational!
I saw her work in the most recent issue of Nude Magazine. In the article she talks of how she originally worked at Tattoo Peter, one of Amsterdam's oldest tattoo shops and she got a lot of inspiration from the city's culture; the port and the sailors who arrived home covered in art work from far off places of anchors and mermaids.
Angelique takes influence from the classic tattoo masters such as Sailor Jerry, but she also has a huge interest in the 20's and 30's and the art work and advertisments from those times, and it's easy to see the similarites in her drawings.
I was intrigued by her use of watercolour. I always associated water colour with something wishy washy, never the strong yet delecate shades found in Angelique's work. But her method was backed up when I heard Tim Hendricks of Miami Ink state that his father's water colour artwork was what got him into tattoo art as the blending and application is so similar!
I emailed Angelique to find out more about her technique and ask her if she had any tips for me regarding my own tattoo work. She was kind enough to respond quickly and I was pleased to bits when she said she thought my work was "pretty sassy"! She advised me to keep looking at traditional flash and I've decided to give water colour a go; cue a trip to Fred Aldous, and £35 later...
I'll let you know how I get on, I'm raring to go as I now have three more designs ready to go!
Other news:
My work at Urbis comes down tomorow after 6pm, so if you haven't had the chance to see it yet get on down and bask in the burlesque glory that is Scarlet Fever.
On a totally unrelated subject, yesterday I was lucky enough to meet one of my favourite authors, Joseph Delaney! The author of the amazing 'Spook' series was doing a signing of his new book, The Spooks Sacrifice at Waterstones in Bury and I was geeky enough to go over and meet him get some books signed and even get my picture taken with him! It was like meeting the Spook in person, although maybe he's not as gruff as old Gregory.
Anyone not aware of this fabulous series should go out and give it a go, it might be aimed at kids but it is truely scary, magical stuff and as the books warn, 'Not to be read after dark!'
Joseph Delaney wondering why security haven't removed this weido yet
Last week's Urbis Creatives launch night went brilliantly! The night was a great opportunity to exhibit art work and show off our other creative skills within a gallery environment. For me it was a first in showing my art work and actually performing within viewing distance of it.
My portait of Scarlet Fever on display on the launch night.
I have to admit I was quite anxious about performing in front of my work collegues, as I was sure none of them really knew what my burlesque act was like, and the thought of prancing about in frilly knickers in front of everyone I was working with the next day did give me the jitters just before going on. But the great thing about being in a double act is the pressure is shared and much easier to deal with, and even if I say so myself The Chantilly Belles rocked Urbis that night!I decided to exhibit my portrait of Scarlet Fever, the star of Channel Four's, Faking It, and a good friend of mine. I wanted to highlight her story which I think sets the scene for modern burlesque and shows it as a contemporary form of feminism and female empowerment. This piece of art work combined with my own burlesque performance blended really well and created a strong presence on the night.The great thing is Urbis were so pleased with the entire show they have asked for it to be left in situ for the forseeable future! So if you are around Manchester this week pop in to the city's landmark building and gallery of city life and take a look at Scarlet in the flesh as it were!!!
Other news:
The Chantilly Belles are proud as punch to announce that we will be performing as part of the Comedy 4 Christies night to be held at The Lowry next month!!! We will be appearing alongside other acts including Justin Moorhouse and Barbara Nice from T.V's Phoenix Nights all in aid of a great cause! More details of our progress as the date looms to follow...
Rainbow watch:
A few weeks ago I told you about a commission I'm doing for a friend of mine of her pussycat Rainbow. Now I know this isn't the usual kind of subject I'd paint, but if any cat could have been a pin-up queen it was Rainbow, and I just couldn't say no! I've been working on this piece between other projects and have finished half of the bag Rainbow is sitting in. Here's a peek of where I'm up to now:
Rainbow ponders the bigger issues of life while sitting in her favourite pondering bag
In the meantime I'm still working on my nautical pin-up tattoo seires and have been researching some fab artists that I hope to share with you over the next few weeks!...
Hooray, I have overcome my technical difficulties and can now share with you what I've been up to:
Rack and Ruin is now finished. This nautical saying literally means shipwrecked, no hope and despair! So when it's all gone to rack and ruin for you remember, it could be worse! As for this poor sailor girl, she's in a pretty bad way. The seaweed around the main picture is actually called 'Wrack' and I added octopuses (apparently 'Octopi' is not grammatically correct as I thought) to symbolise the depths of the sea and the slippery creatures that could soon be feasting on her unfortunate bones!
I also decided to show you a painting I did some time ago; although it's not based on a nautical saying I really enjoyed putting this piece together and I think it has a similar melancholy feel related to the sea.
A Sailor Stole My Heart, was inspired by a line I read in a magazine. The girl in this painting is one the many women who have fallen for sailors on shore leave, men who aren't looking for long-term relationships, just a good time before they ship off to a differnt far flung destination. This lady is crying for her lost love, her limbs and torso also make up the shape of an anchor, whilst the nautical stars symbolise the Navy and also might help navigate her away from this upsetting situation.
Firstly The Chantilly Bellesare performing this Sunday at theLlandudno Victorian Festival!We are taking to the main stage at 8pm. You can find detials about the listings and running order of the weekend at: http://victorian-extravaganza.co.uk
My nautical tattoo paintings are coming on well! Above you can see how far I'm up to with the Rack and Ruin painting.
I've found I've had to approah this work in a totally different way to my usual paintings; It helps to apply a strong outline first instead of last or if at all, as this really helps give you a better idea of how the finished piece will look and just like a real tattoo the outline is the key element which holds the whole thing together. Also I've had to think about new ways of shading and chosen a very cartoony style which works well. I've also found it's much easier to work flat on these images rather than using a easel. I am currently working on two other designs which I hope to begin next week some time. Here's a couple of great tattoo studios I've found in my research which you also might enjoy! I loved the work of Gungho Tattoo! Very classical and vibrant and high quality! and Memento Mori have some great examples of nautical art work.
And now for a new section to this blog. I'm calling it 'Rainbow Watch'. A very dear friend of mine has recently commissioned me to paint her little pussycat Rainbow after seeing my painting 'American Curl'.
American Curl 16" x 20" Acrylic on canvas
This isn't the kind of commission I usually take on but as I knew Rainbow personally I couldn't resist! This painting is going to be worked on slowly over the next few months in between other projects so look out for Rainbow's progress in the coming weeks! To see more of my work go to my website: www.gemmaparker.co.uk
A couple of things this week:Firstly Rene La Rouge, the other half of The Chantilly Belles burlesque double act, was interviewed on BBC Radio Manchester last week about our inclusion in The Lowry's new family dance exhibition 'Express Yourself'. This new show has a brilliant film about us and our act and runs until 27th Sept!
On the art front I have a new picture to show you how the Rack and Ruin nautical tattoo inspired painting is coming along. It's a bit old now and so doesn't fully show where I'm up to right now. I'm considering adding a rope motif border to the central oval.More to follow!
Here's a little example of the process of the first sailor tattoo painting. I am painting this one on artist board, something I've never done before. I think it's really nice to work on and very straight forward: pre primed and nice and slim. I plan to mount and frame this painting then see how I feel, I will probably do a mixture of canvas and artist board in the end..
For some intersting facts on the history of nautical tattooing go to the National Maritime Museum website and check out the 'Skin Deep' exhibition from 2002, an indepth look at the journey tattoos have made around the world and through the ages!
Yesterday I visited the maritime city of Liverpool. After reading the books, watching the films and studying the artwork I wanted to get a one on one feel of the nautical scene for my new seires of work based on vintage pin-up sailor tattoos.
Liverpool has a rich history of maritime connections having once been one of Europe's busiest and most successful cargo-handling ports. The city is dominated by the River Mersey and you can see the strong sea faring influence in the architecture and details all over the city centre. Check out the dolphins wound around the lamposts as you arrive from the train station:
There are also Neptunes and mermaids scattered throughout the area if you look for them. They give a glimpse into the glory and success of Liverpool's ports during the Victorian era as they hold aloft a horn of plenty:
The main reason for my visit was to see the Merseyside Maritime Museum. I really wanted to get a feel for the sailors and shipmen who might have had the tattoos I've been looking into.To get there you first have to walk into the dock area with its great view of the Mersey and various small scooners and yatchs moored up. But the piece de resisitance for me was the enormous anchor situated right by the entrance!
Just look at the size of it!
Once inside the exhibits begin with huge models of ships including the famous Titanic, Lusitainia and The Empress of Ireland. This was a really moving part of the museum and focused on their tragic sinkings and the heroic dealings of some of their crew and passengers. There was some great irish jigs being played in this section too, which lifted the atmosphere a bit.
Moving on, we went on to explore the 'Battle of the Atlantic' and then the part most helpful to me, 'Life at Sea'. In this section you are able to see what everyday life was like for merchant sea farers and saliors over the last three centuries. There are mock ups of sleeping quarters complete with hammocks and examples of tools used aboard ship like this wax pot used to stamp food that had passed the quality check:
It might not seem like much but it's small details like these that help fill in the gaps between the popular image we have of sailors and the real gritty elements of their working life. I like the shape of this pot and it's functional form.
I also really enjoyed this small section about 'Sailortown', the sleazy districts near the ports where sailors usually ended up in the hope of having a good time. The allure of drink, the company of the opposite sex and gambling was usually a powerful draw, despite the fact that these areas could also be extemely violent and dangerous. This was probably a similar place to where Sailor Jerry set up shop as a tattooist in Honolulu and perfectly illustrates his famous 'Screwed, stewed and tattooed' moto. My favorite part in this section is the piece written about the red cap you can see on the right;
'Sailor Trophy 1950's' 'This headband was worn by a waitress at the Moulin Rouge Club at the port of Recife in Brazil. These were much favoured trophies amongst seafarers visiting the club'
It's similar to a tattoo to mark the occasion or remember a lost love, or maybe just a memento to take home and brag about! Probably the last is most likely. While at the museum I also picked up this fab book, specifically about naval slang and it's use in everyday life. Perfect for my nautical tattoo pin-up series illustrating this very theme!
After visiting the Maritime Museum we took a quick walk around the Albert Docks. There lots of small scooners moored up and I liked the fact you could see all the paraphanlia neatly placed upon most of the decks. It was good to see the anchors and the chains and ropes that work them.
In all, Liverpool gave a fantastic insight into the maritime way of life and a deep sense of history. I definately got some ideas about how to refine my designs for the pin-up sailor tattoos I've been working on and feel in a better place to move ahead with them now.
During my recent travels through the internet looking at all things naval, nautical and tattoothemed I've happened upon a couple of saucy little numbers I'd like to share with you:
Firstly Viva Van Story, a website of girlie photography by Miss Van Story, a genius with an eye for the pin-up style. Her models include Masumi Max and Jamie Deadly and the timless images she creates range from 'smouldering seduction to coquettish playfulness'. I love her work as it embodies the classic retro pin-up with a kinky twist. Many of her models have tattoos and a penchant for latex, but none of the images are gratuitous.
My second offering is the website that is 'Nautical but Nice the premier purveyor of the nautical and aeronautical pin-up' I stumbled upon this when looking up nose art on world war two bombers (a distant cousin of vintage sailor pin-up art) What can I say? A website dedicated to sexy maritime pin-up style photos. The girls pose on 40's bomber style planes and mid century yachts and sailing ships in a range of cute nautical accessories. A full five stars from me!
My own designs for my series of nautical pin-ups based on sailor style tattoos is going well, but I have to admit to making things difficult for myself by over complicating the images. I am over thinking them. I guess it's because I'm used to spending hours at a time painting a single image instead of simply drawing. I'll keep you posted as how things go...
