Burly-Q's

Scarlet Fever portrait www.gemmaparker.co.uk

The other weekend I spent a lovely time in North Wales with my good friend, the fabulous Scarlet Fever. Scarlet's story may be known to some of you; She took part in Channel Four's Faking It Burlesque Special which aired in 2006. She managed to fake her way from insecure body conscious cleaner to glamourous showgirl burlesque star and picked up a whole bunch of confidence and sass on the way!

I was inspired to paint Scarlet's portrait as the Queen of Hearts as her story touched so many people and gave countless others the kick they needed to shed thier own insecurities. You can read about the project HERE

While living it up on the Welsh Mountains we watched an interesting DVD detailing the rise of burlesque and giving info about the original stars from old. This made me think about which perfomers of bygone years I have found inspirational. So here's my top three burly queens from the golden age:

During the 1940’s Gypsy Rose Lee was an innovator in her field taking the art form to a whole new level by emphasizing the ‘tease’ in striptease and using a casual strip style, compared to the herky-jerky styles of most burlesque strippers. She also brought a sharp sense of humour into her act as well, becoming as equally famous for her wit as her strip. Gypsy Rose Lee was also a writer and penned the mystery thriller ‘The G String Murders’ later turned into the 1947 film ‘The Lady of Burlesque’.

I borrowed the film 'Gypsy' a film about Gypsy Rose Lee's life from Scarlet as I'm ashamed to admit, I never seen it! I can't wait to watch it!

Dixie Evans was hailed as burlesques answer to Marilyn Monroe. Although Monroe was the sex symbol of the day she never appeared nude or semi nude in any of her films. Evans, with her strong resemblance to Monroe cornered a market by performing like the blonde bombshell on stage in a much saucier manner. The real Marilyn Monroe was too inaccessible to your average joe, but Evans could let these men's imagination run wild. If you couldn't have Monroe, you could have the next best thing. Even though in her late 60’s Evans can still be seen appearing in burlesque tours! She also is the conservator of Exotic World keeping the memory of classic burlesque alive.

Originally starting out in silent films Sally Rand went on to become a dancer when talkies were introduced. She became infamous for popularising the fan dance which has been reproduced and copied ever since. The elegant fan dance involved Rand appearing on stage sparsely dressed or apparently naked but hidden between two enormous feather fans which she then proceeded to swirl and move lithely about her giving the audience a glimpse of leg here and a flash of shoulder there!

Ladies of Burlesque

This week I thought I'd share with you a comtemporary artist I've recently learnt about. I was directed to Sadie Lee as both her and my own subject matter and painting styles have many similarities. During her career Sadie Lee has exhibited works such as 'A Dying Art' - 'Ladies of Burlesque' at the National Portrait Gallery. This series of work is especially exciting to me as it features famous names from old school 1950's American burlesque like Dixie Evans, touted as 'the Marilyn Monroe of burlesque'. But the twist with Lee's work is that she painted portraits of these glamour girls as they are now, mature ladies in their 60's and 70's.

Dixie Evans by Sadie Lee.

In 2007 as part of the Queerupnorth International festival, Lee exhibited at Salford Museum and Art Gallery with her show, 'And then he was a she', a selection of ten large portraits of the legendary drag queen Holly Woodlawn, part of Warhol's Factory set, immortalised by Lou Reed in Walk on the Wild Side...

"Holly came from Miami, F.L.A., hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A.,
Plucked her eyebrows on the way; shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says ‘Hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side,’
Said ‘Hey Honey, take a walk on the wild side.’”
Walk on the Wild Side Lou Reed (1972)

The paintings are a facsinating look a an icon without the veil mystery. They show a eldery and fragile individual in an honest portrayal complete with walking frame and sagging skin, but Lee has still mananged to show a glamourous and proud character in Woodlawn.

Image taken from www.andthenhewasashe.com

I can't believe that this show was exhibited in a gallery just around the corner from my own studio and I never knew it was on until recently! I would have loved to see the paintings up close.

A quick post script about Dixie Evans
Dixie Evans is now in her late 60's and still performs. She is responsible for curating Exotic World (or the Burlesque Hall of Fame), a museum of burlesque memorabilia with a stunning collection from the golden age of bump and grind. She also initiated Miss Exotic World, an annual pageant and fundraiser for the museum which showcases famous names from past decades as well as up and coming personalitles from the neo burlesque scene.
In her day, Dixie went under the headline, 'The Marilyn Monroe of burlesque' and looking at her photos it's easy to see why! In an age where attitides to sex were still pretty prudish and even sex symbols like Monroe never showed more than a mid rift on the screen, Evans could let your imagination run wild. If you couldn't have Monroe, you could have the next best thing!