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***

Make Up; how to go cruelty free

Today I'm going to write about one of my favourite subjects; Make up.

Let me get one thing straight, I LOVE MAKE UP! I love buying it, I love the thrill of the unopened packaging, I love testing new brands, I love applying it and trying out new looks, and I love wearing it! I don't know why I've restricted myself from discussing it before because my art work  encompasses elements of artifice and glamour and make up is just another art form that ties in so beautifully. 

 I frequently get asked by people which brands are good if you want to buy cruelty free cosmetics. So I've put this post together which might help answer some questions. Firstly, here's my story;

About two years ago I had a make up wake up call (sounds kind of fun if you say it slow). My all time favourite make up brand MAC went against their own manifesto and began to test on animals in order to sell their products in China. 

China insists that cosmetics sold in their country undergo animal testing to prove they are safe for use. This includes soaps, perfumes, make up and certain skin products. However China is a huge country, and the potential consumer market can prove all too tempting for some brands.

I can't quite express my disappointment in finding this news out. I'd always happily bought MAC because I thought their quality was outstanding and I could pat myself on the back for buying a brand I knew did not test on animals. It ticked all the boxes. However that bubble was now burst and I seriously had to question myself, can I still buy this make up and wear it knowing an animal is suffering in it's name? 

You'd think the immediate answer would be NO! But I really really loved this brand. I panicked; where would I buy my signature lipstick? How will I cope without THAT colour? But in my heart I knew I'd already made the decision and when I announced on Facebook (yes, I went public, this was my big news story that year) about my boycott of MAC cosmetics after so many years of loyalty, I actually cried!

That goes to prove the emotional link we can have with our favourite brands, and says something about the world we live in don't you think? 

So began my quest for cruelty free/ against animal testing make up products that deliver the goods. I made it my mission to find products that were as good or better than MAC. I felt cheated on and broken hearted. I wanted to wipe the floor with MAC and stomp all over it for ruining my perfect dream of make up bliss!

I have been quite successful in my search and I can tell you that there are lots of great brands out there but you have to know know your background info too:

Firstly what is the difference between cruelty free and animal testing?

You'd think this was a straight forward thing right? But in truth it's very blurry. If a company claim that they 'do not test on animals' as you may read in many FAQ's on different make up sites, it may be that company's tricky way of saying that none of their 'finished' products are tested on animals. However some of the ingredients used in the making of the products may at some point have been tested on animals making them non cruelty free. If you are unsure then contact the company for clarification.

Then again some companies are trickier still. I'm looking right at you MAC! When I contacted MAC to tell them of my upset about their decision to sell in China they sent me a very nice email back saying this:

'Our longstanding commitment to end animal testing has not changed:  we do not test our products or ingredients on animals, nor do we ask others to test on our behalf, except where required by law.'

Sounds fair enough doesn't it? They are against animal testing just like me. However it was this phrase, 'except when required to by law' that exposed them for the cheats they are! (I'll never forgive you MAC). It was after all, their decision to sell in a country that requires animal testing on all cosmetics, so to say they are against it unless the law asks them to is pretty low.

There is another issue to think about also. Some companies are against animal testing and adhere to cruelty free standards, but can be owned by a parent company which doesn't adhere to the same rules. Body Shop and Urban Decay are two such instances.They are both against animal testing but are owned by L'Oreal, who still test some of their products on animals. So buying from the smaller 'safe' companies can be subsidising less moral goings on.

It is a moral minefield. My own view is that buying from brands which publicly denounce animal cruelty whoever they are owned by will help boost the message that people WANT to buy cruelty free and hopefully press that message home to the bigger companies. That is my personal opinion, it is of course up to you to decide what you think.

The best way to find Cruelty Free products is to look for brands that carry the leaping bunny sign or cruelty free logo. Some will have this on their packaging or website (it's good to check they are legit and confirm the authenticity) or/and you may have to search online like I did. You can search for your favourite brands on The Leaping Bunny website to make sure they comply or other sites such as PETA are very good at whittling out brands that have animal testing in some part of their production. I warn you now though be prepared to be upset. I have seen LOTS of brands I've bought in the past not pass the leaping bunny test. Take a deep breath and plow on you will survive!

There are also some good blogs out there dedicated to cruelty free beauty.  My Beauty Bunny is excellent; not only does it list cruelty free products of high quality, it tries them out too to see how they perform! This is an American site so lots of the brands are from the US but with a huge international audience My Beauty Bunny is happy to answer questions and direct you to available links for your country.

So things to remember:

- Just because a company says it's against animal testing does not necessarily mean it is cruelty free. If in doubt do some research or ask the company itself about it's products and manufacture of ingrediants

- Read the small print. Check out FAQ's and Commitments online. It's only by looking out for the details that you can find out what is really going on

- Check to see if the company is owned by a parent company which adheres to cruelty free standards

- Do your own exploring. Having a route around the internet can help you discover all kinds of brands you never knew about. Also don't be afraid to talk to the staff working on the counters in department stores. But remember they are there to make the brand sound good so be prepared to ask for details and don't be fobbed off with the standard 'no we don't test on animals', there may be more to it than that

- Be aware. Companies and brands change hands, and policies all the time so keep up to date.

Here is a list of brands I currently use:

Illamasqua: Edgy, editorial top quality products and cruelty free even the make up brushes are synthetic and it's a British firm to boot!

Body Shop: They do not test on animals or have their ingrediants tested on animals but they are owned by L'Oreal (see above)
Eco Tools: Eco friendly, cruelty free and not tested on animals, win win! (You can buy them in Boots too)
Too Faced: Great colours, cruelty free and also produce Vegan friendly products!
Urban Decay: Amazing colours, do not test on animals and cruelty free, also produce Vegan friendly products, but are owned by L'Oreal (see above)

I try to buy cruelty free wherever possible, but it's not always straight forward. If you use any cruelty free brands that I haven't mentioned please share! The more people who know this stuff the better and good luck in your quest!

Gemma***

This week at a glance...

This week I got a great response from one of my favourite bloggers who runs The Kissed Mouth, a site about all things Pre Raphaelite and Victorian. Kirsty Stonell Walker is the author of two novels about the Pre Raphaelite muses, Fanny Cornforth and Alexa Wilding (both favourites of Dante Gabriel Rossetti who is the style inspiration behind my latest painting).

She said she loved my work and thought it was 'lovely', which is praise indeed from a fellow Pre Raphaelite fanatic, and a published one at that!  

 

I spent another contented day working away at Grace's face on Tuesday and have started to put in the deeper shades and contouring. Again this process is so much like applying make up sometimes it's just one small step away from make up brushes to paint brushes!

I have a few days off work coming up so I am looking forward to spending more time at the studio and really pushing on with this piece. It is such a joy to me to be using one of my favourite artists as inspiration for something that is still considered a controversial subject matter.

When I wonder what Rossetti would think of his style being used as a platform to celebrate transgender femininity I can't help thinking he'd be quite pleased. He was ever a one for liberal thinking and championing left wing causes (they were a free thinking crowd those Pre Raphaelites!); Siding with abolitionists against American slavery during the civil war, using models of mixed race and encouraging his wife to become a fellow artist, I'm sure Rossetti would have approved of this most recent collaboration, or at least have found it entertaining :)

 

Stay tuned as the project continues, 

 

Gemma***

From Pre Raphaeltes to Pin ups

Anyone who has read my blog before when I've been speaking of my love of Pre Raphaelite work will know I've often held the opinion that the Pre Raphaelite models were the pin up girls of their time. I've always thought of them in the same way, they might not be portrayed as cheeky or scantily clad, but they are definitely unattainable and glamorous, and they certainly define an era through their beauty.

So you can imagine my excitement of recently finding out about an artist who managed to span both genres in his lifetime and reflected this in his art work!

Frank Cadogan Cowper is widely known as 'the last of the Pre Raphaelites' being born in 1877 just around the time Edward Burne Jones was creating such works as The Beguiling of Merlin. 

Although Frank Cadogan Cowper was never one of the 'brotherhood', that title only belonging to seven artists including the best known Rossetti, Milias and Holman Hunt, like countless artists after them, being loosely associated with the Pre Raphaelite movement was enough to earn Cowper an honorary PRB badge.

In fact by the time Cowper first exhibited in 1899 the original Pre Raphaelite brotherhood had disbanded over 30 years earlier, yet it's influence could be seen in artists such as Evelyn de Morgan, John William Waterhouse and of course in the work of Cowper himself.

The painting on the left is called 'An Aristocrat Answering the Summons to Execution'
which won him critical acclaim. It reminds me strongly of Milais work in paintings such as 'Lorenzo and Isabella', just look at the dog, and the attention to detail even the black and white lining of the aristocrats coat echos Isabella's ribbon in her hair. I'm also pretty sure that this picture is laden with symbolism of impending doom just like Milais work.

 As Cowpers career took off his evident admiration of the Pre Raphaelites could be found time and time again in his subject matter and style. Here we see 'Venetian Ladies listening ot the Serenade' which takes obvious inspiration from Edward Burne Jones work, 'Sidonia Von Bork' not to mention Rosseti's 'Lady Lilith'.

 

The turn of the century saw vast changes in modes in art yet Copwer effortlessly bridged the Pre Raphaelite fixation of beauty and medievalism with contemporary themes. I especially find  his models fascinating because as the decades roll by you can witness the fashion of the times reflected in their faces. Take for instance these two paintings both called Vanity, painted first in 1907 (using that frock from the earlier painting above once again) and then 1919 and you can certainly see a nod to the decadent screen sirens of the early 20's in the latter's face.

Perhaps the best painting by Frank Cadogan Cowper to illustrate my point about pin up girls is this picture called 'The Ugly Duckling' which is startling when you compare it to his earlier paintings. It could easily sit next to a Gil Elvgrin or Peter Driben. If not somewhat more demure than those playful gals, this lady certainly has the aura of a pin up, one of those smiling yet unattainable lovelies which always make the world seem just that little bit perkier

Cowper's work is a beautiful illustration of how art changes and evolves and is one of the many artists who existed between the great art movements, sometimes overlooked simply for that reason. I however, love the fact he represented both Pre Raphaelites and pin ups with equal flare!

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***