New work in progress
Recently I’ve been painting a lot from historical photos from the early 1800s. I love the fashion from that period, the long black taffeta skirts, and cinched in bodice.
These works were illustrated for an artist book I made about the women of Queenstown/West Coast. I wrote a bit about it here and here
Looking back even further the fashion was even more exaggerated. tiny corseted waist and large billowy skirts. I came across embroidery from the early 17th century and was fascinated by the other worldly animals and flora depicted in scenes with women gathering flowers.
I’ve painted several of the embroidery inspired watercolours, all very loose and moody winter colours. After working on these watercolours and really loving the simplicity of the women’s form, I wondered what if I made some small dolls in their shape.
I think they are so much fun to make and soon I hope to make a small tutorial on the making and painting of these dolls. The finished dolls and art work will be available soon in my online shop.
