THE FITTING.....

I had been more than a little busy lately.....what with creating a wedding dress and all of the other responsibilities that went along with being the mother of the bride, and opting to hold the ceremony and reception at our home.

It didn't matter if she wanted a gown as elaborate as my own first wedding dress (thank you Princess Diana for the poofy overdone fashion influence), or if she preferred a more fitted, low cut fishtail silhouette like the one I wore for my second marriage (the one where I finally married Mr. Right). Both of which, I designed and made myself.

It also didn't matter if she wanted one of any of the many other gown styles I have created over the years.  I didn't care if all she wanted to wear was a pair of old blue jeans and a T-shirt, whatever she decided; I wanted to be the one to make it.  Having waited almost 30 years for this event, I can honestly say I had a blast finally creating my daughter's wedding dress.

I guess it both surprised me and yet it didn't, that she chose to go nontraditional and have a pink gown.....she always has been such a rebel.  So, that she did; her selection was a soft shade of pink in a sheer with a lovely flowing quality to it, which overlays a pure as the driven snow white satin.

So, it came time for the
 first fitting and I hadn't 
sewn together the sheer 
overlay yet. Pieces scattered
 about the room as we 
measured, tucked here, 
gathered there and she, 
clearly dreaming the dreams 
a bride does at this stage. 

It won't be long before she
 will be moving halfway 
across the country, in fact 
they are due there shortly 
after the nuptials.  

A scenario that will most 
likely take place quite 
frequently over the course 
of their marriage - 
moving a lot that is,  having 
fallen for a military man 
(and quite a wonderful one at that!).

While I had her over for this particular visit, thinking ahead I had asked her if we could do a photo shoot as well (an obligation one has when one is an artist's offspring; modeling).

Afterwards, I took my seamstress hat off, then I donned my artist hat and we headed straight to my studio and I began setting up.  Pieces of fabric flung here and there still remained from when I had the gown laid out for cutting on my roomy floor.....
 idea's began to flow of what poses I would have her try, where to place the lights....etc., etc.

Around about the umpteenth shot, as articles of clothing began disappearing, I thought "wouldn't it be nice if we had some drapey sort of sheet or something to add to this....something that provided lots of complex folds and shadows?"  Then it hit me.  "Duh!  Let's really get a real run for our yardage dollars and drape some gown pieces over her strategic parts."

So drape we did and what resulted were pretty impressive shots for this amateur photographer - if I do say so myself....... and I couldn't wait to start painting from them!

#1

#1  After sketching on a large piece 

of paper the general idea, making 

sure proportions are correct, I then 

cut that out and placing it on an 

already painted panel, I trace 

around it with chalk to use as a guide.  

I am now ready to begin the 

actual painting of our bride.

#2

#2  Laying down a base coat 

or under painting I began filling in the skin areas

 with mixes of titan buff, alizarin crimson

 and burnt sienna, again watching 

my proportions. 

 (I saw already that I needed to tweak that left arm).

Just played with the blends a little on my palette to get that "perfect soft pink" that's in the fabric!

#3

#3  I was going to be applying many layers of various colors for her hair so I began to lay in some of the highlights creating a road map of sorts for myself.   The fabric also would have many layers and nuances throughout the many folds so I started with a soft pink achieved by mixing titan buff and alizarin crimson. I started some high lights on her skin here also.

#4

#4  Just back from a Caribbean cruise, she was about as sun tanned as one can get, so burnt sienna was my go-to for that sun goddess look.  Here is how I do a lot of my mixing....right on the painting!  I just load a couple different colors on my brush (looks like titan buff and b.sienna here) and I am careful not to blend too much, as I want to see brush strokes and variance in color in my work.

It always amazes me what can come out of the mess I make on my

palette (and surrounding area).....and no, I don't use a real palette.  Nothing fancy here; a styro-foam plate works just fine for me and I can toss it when I am done!  My drafting table is where I do most of my work using a table-top easel and I have learned it's best to keep it covered with protective paper, for obvious reasons!

#6

#6 Building up of the skin and more strands of hair emerging.

#5  The way the light hit, or lack 

#5

thereof, on her hands

left me with a challenge;  

paint what you see, 

not what you think you see.

I struggle with this, always

overly confident I know

what actually lies in the 

shadow and constantly 

failing miserably when I so

vainly try to render what 

I don't see.  So, with immense

self discipline I proceeded 

and painted only what I saw 

and am pleased with the 

ambiguity that resulted. Having left them well shadowed 
- me thinks - also helps show off the ring which is of course 

an important part of the story within this piece.

I just love, love, love the creative patterns that appear magically on my palette as the colors sneak past their borders and visit with the neighboring ones!  (I always dream of doing a large wall size abstract when I see this)

#7

#7 Continuing to add layers of hair in variety of shades, some color and shadows worked on.

Mangenese blue is working well 

in the shadow areas for both her hands and the fabric


.

#8

#8 More layering of her hair and dabs of paint in all sorts of places to what would be for anyone else ad nauseam but, I delight in picking my work apart even if it's the most minutely off.....I gotta fix it (bless my ever lovin' OCD heart!).  I am kidding.....if I could just learn to let these little things go.....I could produce a lot faster - I am sure!!!

#9

#9 Same thing but taking a final look at it 

in b/w to check my values....

One of the most interesting things I find about painting a piece with    a humanoid portrayed, and whence that human views said piece,                      is how they react to my interpretation of them.

I will never forget a commissioned piece I did years ago as an anniversary gift for the woman's husband.  It was of the middle aged couple and the woman's first words were; "Gee, I didn't realize I was so fat!"  (I guarantee it was not because of my rendering of her with any extra brush strokes.....truly it was quite an accurate portrayal of her).  She had never said "paint me thinner" prior to my starting the piece so she got what she got.....was I supposed to read her mind and instinctively trim the fat, so to speak!?  Enough of my ranting......she did end up buying the piece after all, and I was told it made her husband cry 
(in a good way folks).

Back to the current story.  When I unveiled the finished piece in front of my daughter and her fiance' he either was genuinely impressed with it (or is a really good actor), and she too, seemed thrilled - yay for me!   Upon further study of the piece she then says;  "Hey my boob's aren't that big! And my rear end's not that round......but I like it!"

Hmmmmm.......

Now here is where artistic interpretation and self image/esteem cross paths.  I know being her mother that I am probably not the most impartial or objective judge of my daughter - don't all mothers think their daughter is the fairest, most beautiful creature of them all? Well, I know for a fact mine is.......you can see it on any member of the opposite sex's face who is blessed with her presence - she is one hot mama!   So, being a stickler for accuracy,  I meticulously attempted to render her just as she is. She just looks at herself with a much more critical eye, sadly a trait that so many woman in today's society possess (thank you media for airbrushing our expectations to the point of all things unattainable). I am afraid I may have more than a little to do with the image she has of herself, and have passed on, I am sure a little of that nasty gene (having harbored more than a little self doubt about my own appearances much of my life).  However, now that I am older and wiser, I honestly don't give a crap what anybody thinks and that attitude has helped me feel much better about myself, something I hope she learns to do much, much earlier in her life than I did in mine.

.....and finally:

The Fitting

acrylic on deep cradled panel

Thanks for visiting!

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