Showing posts with label painted dress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painted dress. Show all posts

Sunday, October 21, 2012

What the Art Teacher Wore #39

Last Day to Dye Monday: Tie-dye that is. We managed to get all 400 plus shirts rubber banded and dyed just in time. I've been asked by several of you just how we went about the process of organizing (which is not handled by me but an amazing parent), preparing and dying all of those shirts. I'll share that with you in a future post. birdie top: Old Navy, last year; dress: thrifted, Isaac Mizrahi; tights: Target; shoes: Fluevog; poodle pin: antique shop; belt: gift from a friend
What's happenin', hepcats? Nothin but lazin' and loungin' on this here Sunday before my lovely week off. Usually on Sundays I'm dreaming up what kind of mischief we are going to get into in the art room but not so today. I've managed to spend my day sewing (I'm just two zippers and two hems away from finishing two dresses!), running errands (I had to venture into The Mall-shivers-), and dining out. Usually on my days off, I'm lucky if I manage to get out of my 'jamas and shower, so today I'm feelin' mighty proud. 

While I share my what-I-wore's with you this week, I have to share this British portrait artist I just discovered: Gerald Leslie Brockhurst. When I came across his paintings, I had a serious, "Where have you been all my life?!" moment. I love portraits of women, especially these with their beauty and incredible fashion sense. These paintings are well over 50 years old and look as though they could have been painted yesterday.  My personal favorite is the one below: those puffy velvet sleeves, those barely-there eyebrows and That Stare.

I hope you have a lovely week and I'll chat with you soonish!
Ophelia 1937, Oil on canvas Gerald Leslie Brockhurst was born in England on Halloween in 1890. Apparently his drawing skills were so awesome that by the age of twelve he was enrolled in the Birmingham School of Art (that would be the B'ham in England, not in 'bama).
Tent Dress Tuesday: I needed it on Tuesday. Had to save room for an afternoon of fro-yo.  sweater: Anthro; dress: BCBG; tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina
Portrait of a Girl I love paintings with an unfinished look about them. I feel like it allows you to see into the artist's process, how he drew with his brush and built the colors over time. Brockhurst's amazing talents won him a scholarship to study art in Italy and France. That happened to me once. But I decided not to go.
Painted Dress Tuesday: It was a wild day in the art room and my dress reflected it. I'm used to having visitors hang out in my room, but on this particular day, it just felt a little crazy. I actually didn't wear these boots but my DIY splatter paint shoes which you can see with the dress DIY here. dress: thrifted Target dress, painted by me; tights: Target; boots: Frye; belt: Anthro; scarf: picked up in Germany
Sorry, can't seem to find the title on this one. While Brockhurst was studying in Italy, he fell in love with the work of Leonard da Vinci. I think you can see that influence of a dark and mysterious background in this painting. It's very similar to the background in da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Thursday, The New Friday: Thursday was our last day with kiddos before they were off for Fall Break. We still had one more day of professional development before we could call it quits. dress: anthro; top: anthro, gift from a friend; tights: Target; boots: old, Seychelles
Portrait of Mrs. Lebus In the 1920's Brockhurst became a pretty big time portrait artist, painting the likes of Marlene Dietrich and the Duchess of Windsor. His portrait etchings are equally amazing.
Fall Break Friday: Can you find the creeper in this photo? dress: Anthro; tights and necklace: Target; shoes: Sofft
Awww! Well isn't dat the cuddest widdle kitty eber?! All 20 lbs of her (just kidding, we've managed to wittle her down to 16).
Jeunesse Dorée, 1934 Just like every great artist, Brockhurst life involved a scandal. You see, he was married at the time he met the model of the painting above. Their affair became public when she gave an interview with a magazine that was probably the 1930's version of InTouch or People (my personal faves). Oops.
His wife at the time was already a little miffed because he'd messed around with her sister, Marguerite. Double oops. He eventually divorced his first wife, moved to the U.S., became a citizen and married Dorette, the woman he dubbed Ophelia in the first painting. This just in, this painting is actually NOT by Brockhurst but Gerald Festus Kelly. Sorry for the mistake...and thank you, kind reader, for the correction!

 Portrait of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll 1931

Regardless of that scandal, there is no denying these amazingly beautiful paintings. I am just in awe. You can find more here. This has me in the mood to get some canvases and paints out and go to town. Maybe I'll even manage to squeeze a kitty in the background.













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Thursday, October 18, 2012

DIY: Anthropologie Style Part 2

I promise you I'm not wearing some make-shift neck brace for an insurance scam. Our fall mornings have been just crisp enough for a little scarf-age. Of the neck-swallowing variety. Outfit details: belt and hair clip: Anthropologie, sale room (I don't even bother with the rest of the place); boots: Frye; scarf: Germany; dress: Anthropologie-copy made by me!

So I once heard in a meeting that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I have many a problem, but my biggest one of all is (drum roll, puh-lease): Starting 5,000 projects. And finishing one. 

I blame it on my begats disease. As in, one idea births, or, begats another. For example, my students are currently learning about how the first hot air balloon flew over Paris. Which begat the (unfinished) Hot Air Balloon Applique Dress. But there were a few hiccups in that project, so my frustration begatted (?) another Halloween dress. Which begat-a-micated a third Halloween dress. This one with a skull fabric. And then I saw these amazing skull flower pots on pinterest which lead to the begatimacation of some Day of the Dead painting. 

And when all of that became too overwhelming, I decided to feed my other addiction: online shopping. At which point I stumbled upon the above dress at Anthropologie.com. In the sale section of course. What a dream dress for an art teacher, right? But for $129 (and that's the sale price, people!) I declaired: "I can make that!" and another idea was begat's'ed.

Oh sad, rumbled Target dress. I thrifted you for a mere $7.99 but your boringness put you at the back of my closet.
What's that? You wanna make a Anthro-knock-off? Lemme tell you, it is so stinkin' easy. Here's what you need:
  • demin-ish dress. Or really any dress that's drab and just sitting around in your closet unworn
  • fabric paint. I picked up Tulip Soft Fabric Paint in Matte Sunshine Yellow, Marine Blue, Turquoise, Chocolate, Linen Matte and Azalea at Joann's. By the way, never go in there without coupons: they have a mailing list (get on it), feature them in the Sunday papers, they take all competitors coupons and they offer 15% teacher discounts.
  • paint brushes. Duh.
Now you might recall that this isn't the first time I've tried my hand at replicating Anthro looks. I made a copy of another too-expensive sale dress and a pair of sandals. So much of their clothing has a DIY look about it that it's easy to mimic.


Now I have to tell you, I am not an abstract painter. In fact, not long ago, I took a class on painting abstractly and the instructor laughed at my work. Laughed, I tell you! So I was a little nervous painting on this dress. I attempted to copy the Anthro dress at first...but that was...boring. After I started loosening up, I thought of my amazing kindergarten abstracts and realized: if they can do it, so can I!
I really enjoyed painting with the Tulip fabric paint. It worked just like acrylic. In some cases, I had to brush on two coats but that seemed to add to the dry-brush-stroke look. I used the brightest of colors like yellow and turquoise, for accents.
And then I went all crazy town and splatter painted my shoes. This is, of course, what the students liked best. I used the same fabric paint just diluted a pinch to make it more splatter-able. You can see more DIY shoe madness here , here, and here.
The fabric paint is dry within four hours. After 72 hours, it can be washed. But I was too excited to wait that long. I spent two evenings painting it (I had to allow paint to dry before painting other areas. That slowed me down a bit). Just enough time away from the other 4,999 projects I've yet to finish.
Today a kindergartener said to me, "Mrs. Stephens, your legs are purple!" To which I replied, "That's what happens when you eat too many grapes." Looking at me in horror and taking a step back she whispered, "...really?"
I gotta tell you, painting this dress was a lot of fun. I hope you'll be inspired to do the same! And save yourself $129 while you are at it. Thanks for dropping by!
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