Painting The Tattooed Lady

The Tattooed Lady has landed! Friday night saw the launch of HOME's opening exhibition The Heart Is Decietful Above All Things where my art work got her first airing. I am very pleased to say she is a big hit and throughout the night people were getting covered in my tattoo transfers depicting tales of love and regret! To see more photos from the private view and maybe spot yourself sporting a tattoo visit this project's facebook page.

I had wanted to keep most of the details about how The Tattooed Lady would look under wraps until the show, so now that she is up and running I thought I'd share with you the painting process of the tattooed lady herself who appears on the machine.

From the start I knew I wanted her to have a 1920/30's look, not quite flapper girl but moving away from the belle epoque. I trawled through my books about vintage Hollywood and fashion and also began to search the internet to find the right face. The face was very important because as this entire project was inspired by tales of love and regret I wanted the lady to have a hint of melancholy.

I very nearly settled on an image of Gloria Swanson looking dashing in a gypsy headscarf but then I stumbled across a tiny black and white image of a beautiful unknown vintage lady with just the right look in terms of period but also with the most lovely pensive expression that held a hidden story of its own.

So began the design for the painted panel: I kept the lady's shoulders and neck bare in order to show off the tattoos she would be covered in and then built up an art deco style pattern around her that would allow me to comfortably fit in the text I wanted: LOVE, REGRET and BECOME A LIVING WORK OF ART. This last phrase was inspired by the posters I'd seen advertising real tattood ladies who were marketed as living exhibitions, a curious idea to our modern minds but one I really enjoy!

 

Once I was happy with the design I began to paint and here's how that process went:

I painted this image directly onto a wooden panel and found that the wood acted very differently to the canvas I am used to. It tended to suck up the paint (even after several layers of primer) which made blending more time consuming. However once I'd layerd up enough paint it began to react much better and take the colours and consistency.

I chose tattoos that would look both simple and striking and fit the shapes of the lady's shoulders, neck and chest

All inked up!

Here is the lady sitting where she was intended in the machine. You can go an visit her and bag yourself a tattoo transfer to boot between now and 26th July at HOME!

The making of a machine!

So much has happened since my last post about my project The Tattooed Lady, so let me fill you in briefly on just some of it!

The Tattooed Lady is my most recent art project and is a vintage style penny arcade machine which dispences tattoo tranfers. In this post I'll talk about the machine itself and I'll do posts about the transfers and the painting of the Lady to follow.

I wanted a 1900's feel to the work landing somewhere around Boardwalk Empire era, not quite art noveau but heading towards art deco. Some of my inspiration came from original end of the pier machines like this:

You can see further inspiration and my rough drawings for the machine HERE

Being made up from an old wardrobe I found at a secondhand furniture warehouse, the Lady was then constructed to my specific design and dimensions by Tom, fantastic carpenter to the arts, who did a brilliant job of making my vision a reality:

 (See the sign written panel being created HERE)

These parts from the wardrobe (one of the reasons I chose it) were put to good use in the final construction on the machine to add period detail and interest.

 

Ta-daa! The machine exists! You can compare and contrast with my drawing above to see how spot on it is!

Next was the job of fitting lights and a bell which will 'DING!' everytime a transfer is dispenced. Enter Steve, from Manchester's Owl Project, an expert in electrics.

I wanted the sort of bulbs where the filiment would show when lit and a bell that made me think of a 'test your strength' machine from a fairground.

After much consultation on what would actually work Steve made was able to fit lights that have made the machine come alive! I was so thrilled when I entered his studio last week to see the Lady beaming and lit up, it was so exciting!

 

I have painted a panel to be fitted onto the upper body of the machine of a rather lovely vintage tattooed lady and will share more details in my future posts. In the meantime, if you'd like to get a sneak preview of what she looks like head over to the project's facebook page: The Tattooed Lady: Tales of Love and Regret 

The Tattooed Lady will be shown as part of The heart Is Deceitful Above All Things at HOME 22nd May - 26th July

A trip to the sign writers

Yesterday I went to get the header panel for my penny arcade machine painted up so it would say 'The Tattooed Lady'. I knew I wanted it to have a classic style font and have a vintage look but I was less than confident that I could pull off the execution myself. I've used text in my work many times before but I knew that there was no way I could fake years of training and expertise to give my machine an authentic look. Here you can see the where the panel will be on The Tattooed Lady. Once fitted it will be surrounded by lights:

This is Damian of Damian Whyatt Signwriting who talked me through the process as he worked on my panel.

I had prepared the MDF panel the day before by priming it several times and sanding it down between coats to make it a smooth as possible then painting it with a sumptuous red acrylic. Damian began by using a template he had already drawn out and covering the back in chalk. He than traced over the original lines to transfer the design.

Next he taped up the lines of the decorative border and top and bottom of the letters. Then he began to paint them in using enamel paint with a special long flat bristled brush. It was magical to watch the paint glide on so perfectly!

Once the lower case letters had been completed the tape was pulled away from them to reveal a clean crisp edge. Next the larger letters with flourishes were painted in and the boarder filled in using the same process.

Damian then began to paint in the shadow in a dark red enamel paint. This small additionn made a huge difference and made the letters pop! The gap between the yellow and the dark red created a more dramatic look than if they had simply been painted to touch.

The whole process took about an hour and a half and was a real insight into the sign writing art form. I am really pleased with the finsihed piece and can't wait to see how it will look when it sits atop my penny arcade machine.

Shopping for The Tattooed Lady

 

A few weeks ago myself and Tom the carpenter (the maker of my wonderful Pre Raphaelite frame last year) went shopping for second hand furniture with which to make my tattoo transfer dispencer, The Tattooed Lady.

My design is inspired by the sort of penny arcade machines found in the early 1900's - 1930's, so we were looking for items with a vintage finish ideally with Queen Anne style legs.

 

We scoured every charity shop and even the posh antiques markets in Manchester looking for the right piece, but it was in a drafty second hand warehouse that we spotted a small non descript wardrobe that had potential.

 

At first glance it doesn't look like much, but I thought its wood had the perfect look plus it had some great details that could be utilized for my design.

We didin't find anything with lthe right legs but Tom reassured me he could pick some up new and stain them the right colour. 

With the materials ready, I mocked up a flat plan of my machine to scale. The fridge freezer came in very handy that day as I covered it in newspaper and drew all over it. It just happend to be the right height.

You can see how the decorative details of the wardrobe will be used for the top of the machine and the wood for the main body. The design also features bulbs which will light up as a transfer is dispenced.

I will be getting help from Tom and Steve Symons of The Owl Project for  the internal mechanism which will also feature a bell! I'm looking forward to seeing how this all comes together.

Did you get your name on a brick?

In a little diversion from my Tattooed Lady project #TheTattooedLady, I have also recently been setting up some work for the final ever Cornerhouse Projects.

Photo by Ben Page

Most people will know by now that Manchester's beloved Cornerhouse will soon be closing its doors for the last time in March. However that's not the end of the story... In the Spring HOME will be opening as a new hub of art and culture in the city. HOME is the merger of both Cornerhouse and The Library Theatre Company, so rather than Cornerhouse ceasing to exist, it's easier to say it will live on in a different form.

As a farewell to the building we have all come to know and love the gallery staff at Cornerhouse have been given the opportunity to put on the last Cornerhouse Projects exhibition. As we are all artists, performers and actors this was a great chance to do something where we could combine our talents. So, using our unique knowledge of the building we decided to explore behind the scenes, delve into Cornerhouse history as well as some urban legends surrounding the place and Full Stop, the final Cornerhouse Projects will be the result.

For my piece I wanted to say my own farewell to the building and leave a lasting mark. In a 'backstage' mini tour where we took a camera around to expose the unseen Cornerhouse, I was struck by how much I liked the exposed bricks on the back stairs. What kind of secret conversations, blistering arguments and friendly banter had those bricks witnessed over the past 30 years? (For a secret peek of what else we found on our tour read to the end)

 

Cornerhouse would be nothing without the staff and punters who make it what it is, and this made me want to extend the opportunity to say goodbye to all those with memories of the Cornerhouse. Doing a call out on Facebook, Twitter and an inhouse call out to staff, I collected over 200 names of people to be written onto those exposed bricks as a lasting tribute so that when we leave and the Cornerhouse is no more, our names will remain a part of the building's fabric.

Lots of people left messages about their love for Cornerhouse and I recognised and know so many of you! It was quite a memory filled day as I wrote out all the names onto the bricks...

It took me five hours and 10 paint pens to achieve as the fabulous Chris Payne documented the process in photographs. Some of the photos will be on display as part of the show, while the full set will be available to view during the exhibition on Flickr. Throughout the run anyone interested will be able to go into the 'Staff only' area at set times to find their name and maybe find a few other familiar ones too!

Full Stop: informal launch in the Cafe-bar Thursday 19th Feb 5.30-7pm

Exhibition runs until Thursday 2nd April

...and for those of you nosey people who want to know, here's the Cornerhouse the public don't usually get to see photographed as research for the Full Stop exhibition...

Pretty grotty huh? Check out Full Stop for more Cornerhouse inspired art works by talented artists ;)