Where have all the surfing cowboys gone?

The connection that I made between the title of this post and the photos are confusion, waiting and playfulness. The girl in question impatiently waits for her surfing cowboys, with a movie-type title sequence brandishing the words 'Surfing Cowboys' behind her that is ironically placed as it hides behind her.

I find that her pose in this particular photo conveys impatient waiting and playfulness and she emulates the abnormal positions one would see a toddler or young child making, and the white of her dress can connect with this as white usually represents purity. I love the colour contrast of the wall and the girl here, but her skin and the letter colour is similar and so connects the two. 

The glow of her white dress in this photo radiates beyond her physical being (most likely a result of sunlight and the camera or editing), but has connotations of angels and spiritual beings. This combined with the fact that she is on her own and looking for the 'surfing cowboys' can lead to a narrative of her being a ghost that does not realise she is no longer a human, and is floating around a supernatural realm where she is in these locations at the same time as those that are alive but neither can see each other, hence why she cannot find her surfing cowboys,

Sketching

Unfortunately I was unable to attend Kat's lesson, and so I did drawing of my own at home. Before doing this course I would often draw illustrations that I saw on the internet as a hobby, and so this task was enjoyable for me despite not having drawn for a while.

 

Now looking back at these photos it is obvious I could have added more layers as there are clear gaps in the shading. However I attempted the 'light reflection' look on each of the shapes for some realism. What I enjoy most about drawing with pencil is gradients. Going from dark to light when shading is a matter of layering more in the dark areas and layering less in the lighter areas, which is much like doing eyeshadow on an eye, or contour on a face. Drawing and sketching relates to makeup in that both require skill in symmetry, shading and gradients, and straight or evenly curved lines. Drawing is good practice for makeup without having to use your products and making a mess.

 

This is my example of still life drawing. It is clear that I need some practice with proportions as to begin with I had drawn the circular shade part too big, and so had to re-draw it. Also, when looking at the photo and the drawing, it is obvious that I drew it too wide. However I attempted to replicate the shading and reflections on the white ceramic areas. I will keep practising my drawings and proportions in order to be able to transfer these skills to makeup and hair.

Symbolism within Elizabethan portraits

Queen Elizabeth I was notorious for her well posed, perfect, symbolic portraits. She herself was extremely aware of the power and influenced of propaganda, and so her portraits were a way of promoting herself and invoking loyalty within the public.

She wanted her portraits to show chastity and purity, and her love of peace and the world. This was done through items placed in her portraits, whether that be flowers, globes or snakes. I will be exploring these items and their purposes.

Unfortunately, due to Tudor cosmetics have a detrimental effect on skin and health of those who used it, even people like Elizabeth suffered the consequences. Having endured smallpox, her skin was scarred, and so she used the popular lead makeup to hide this. Her skin then became burned and prematurely aged. This is not apparent in her portraits; she is painted with crisp, perfect skin that had the desired veins on her forehead. This is an example of how she was able to manipulate the portraits to her advantage. In addition to this, the tudors did not have toothpaste or any form of effective dental hygiene, and so they had black teeth as a result of decay. Therefore she did not have her mouth open in any of the portraits, which meant that nobody had to be aware of her unpleasant teeth. It is also known that Elizabeth loved her hands, and so these are shown in her portraits as a focus. They always appear dainty and fragile, which may have been a sign of femininity in the tudor period.

With a review of her portraits, it is obvious how each one served a different purpose in representing sides of Elizabeth that she wanted to be apparent to her country. In addition to this, the styles of the portraits changed due to the rise of the renaissance and the use of different artists.

Armada Portrait:

Elizabeth in this portrait is looking away and not giving any attention towards the viewer which shows she is the most important person, and it represents power and her control. Elizabeth has a globe in her hand, and her fingers are over South America, which where Spain obtained their gold from. In addition to this, the drapes behind Elizabeth represent wealth as they were unattainable for the poor.

Rainbow Portrait:

Elizabeth holds a rainbow in this portrait because it represented peace, which was something that she was a lover of. Her head piece is covered in rubies and pearls; pearls represented purity. There is a serpent on her arm which has a heart shaped ruby in its mouth; serpents represented wisdom and so this symbolises that wisdom has captured her heart. The goddess of the moon is represented by the crescent shaped jewel on her head. Moreover, above her head is a celestial spear which shows how she is controlled by passion and wisdom. What is notable about this portrait is that it was painted 3 years before her death, which is because despite her physical being becoming haggard and aged, her portraits could live forever and her dynasty would be immortal. 

Pelican Portrait:

There is a tudor rose pinned to Elizabeth's chest, which was used to represent her dynasty and the unity it brought to her domain. Moreover, it had religious connotations because the medieval symbol of the Virgin Mary was the rose, and so Elizabeth wanted to be seen as her predecessor. The pelican badge on Elizabeth symbolises love because folklore told that mother pelicans would pluck their own breasts if their babies were hungry and would die in the process. Pelicans were also a representation of Jesus dying on the cross. Elizabeth is wearing fabrics of red, black and gold colours. These were very difficult to keep on fabrics and so shows how wealthy she was. In addition to this, red colours were made of Cochineal (crushed Beatles), and was a trade of the Spanish that England fought for. In addition to this, lace was difficult to obtain. The lace with blackwork on her top is embroidered with little tudor roses. Lastly, Elizabeth has cherries in her ears which shows how her 'Cherry' is still intact. 

Phoenix Portrait:

The symbol of the phoenix, which is attached to Elizabeth's chest in the portrait, represented immortally and uniqueness. The legend is that every 500 years the Phoenix is consumed by fire and reborn again, and only one can ever exist.

Ermine Portrait:

The Ermine (the animal on Elizabeth's arm) was part of the weasel family and prized for its white tail with a black tip. It was a symbol of royalty and even wears a crown here. She also wears her most prized jewel, the 'Three Brothers' jewel. Moreover, Elizabeth wears black and has a black background which signifies wealth and the symbolic gravity of this portrait. On the bottom right is the Sword of the State, which signifies justice, and the olive branch symbolises peace.

Sieve Portrait:

Elizabeth holds a sieve here because it represents purity and virginity. The ancient Roman vestal virgin 'Tuccia' had to hold a sieve with water around to prove her purity, as the water did not fall through the bottom 

Book Portait:

Here, Elizabeth marks a page of her book with her finger. This represented her devotion to protestantism, and was a gift from her half brother. 

There were other items unmentioned here that had significant symbolism. For example gloves represented elegance, and dogs such as the greyhound represented faithfulness. 

Resources:

Notes from class

http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-images.html

Monochromatic Look in class

     

















Here is my version of my monochromatic look on a person. I also found that blocking out the eyebrows for this look would have benefitted immensely as the colour of the brow is not the colour that I intended; the natural colour of the brow beneath leaves a dirty type look and does not enable consistency of the green across the brow. In addition to this, the ombre effect of the lips is not how I intended either. I think in order to achieve this I should have created a lighter green colour to put between the yellow and the green in order for there to be a slower graduation in colour rather than an abrupt difference. I believe that the contouring went well, and the gradient of the eyeshadow, however I would have liked to make the green underneath the start of the brow darker. This look is again beauty because of the conventional attention towards eyebrows, eyebrows and lips.

The Seven Photographs The Changed Fashion

I thoroughly enjoyed this video, as I had not heard of any of these photographers and was not particularly aware of the evolution of fashion photography and how explicit it had become as early as the 1970's.

My particular favourite photographer that Rankin covered was Helmut Newton. Nevertheless, the other photographers were of great talent, but Newton had photos that really enthralled me and captured my attention on a creative level.

Helmut Newton

http://insideout.topshop.com/images/old/6a01053695b916970c0154348afc22970c-pi.jpg

https://pleasurephoto.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/1976-charlotte-rampling-photographed-by-helmut-newton6.jpg

http://museografo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Helmut_Newton-9.jpg

http://artichaut.bdarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Photography_Elsa_Peretti_New_York_1975_by_Helmut_Newton_edited-1.jpg

These are my favourite Helmut Newton images. When looking at his work it is immediately obvious that he explored the female body while encompassing mystery, shapes and of course fashion. I love the geometric appearances in the first two photos; it gives them an almost futuristic aura that is beyond their time. I believe that his photos give a female empowerment where they are able to bare all comfortably in the name of art, despite negative opinions towards pornography (which his photography was bordering on) and the opinions of feminists. I believe that his photos are a positive testament to the female body, and each photo has a storyline behind it that is left for the voyeur to conjure and create, extending beyond the surface image. The fact that all photos are black and white means that the colour does not detract from the features that Newton wanted you to keep your eyes on such as their clothes, the shadows on and around the body and the distinctive shapes like the rocks in the second photo. Notably, all clothes are black (a result of the black and white filter), which alludes to this 'pornography' theme, and also adds a sleek, monochromatic, authoritative mood which I found the most compelling. 

References:

http://fadedandblurred.com/spotlight/helmut-newton/

Video: 
http://vimeo.com/60749359

Face Charts

We were given the task of creating face charts with specific colour schemes, those being achromatic, monochromatic, analogous and complimentary.

Achromatic:

My achromatic look consists mostly of blacks and greys, and I created a futuristic, geometric look inspired by tribal patterns and characters such as Spock from Star Trek for the eyebrows. I found this difficult to create because of having to make sure that the shapes and lines are symmetrical and making the lines thin and refined. This would have been difficult to create on the face without extreme concentration and a small, thin, dense brush. 

Complimentary:

My complimentary look consists of yellows and purples, as they are opposite each other on the colour wheel. I went for a feline type eye that enables the yellow to be striking as it is surrounded by purple lines and extends out of the end of the eye which makes the eye look elongated. I wanted to dot yellow on the lips because I think that it texturises the look and creates a focus on the lips and not just the eyes.

Monochromatic:

This look is green ivy inspired- a look that is not conventional but a beauty look due to the fact that it conforms to the eyebrows, eyes and lips look. However these are not conventional colours that would be worn everyday and so is more editorial. I have created an ombre brow where it begins on the inside with a light green colour and ends with a dark green colour. I really liked the look of the dark green eyeshadows in the hollow underneath the inside of the eyebrows extending to the eyes because it creates a harsh, shady image. However to counteract the relatively intense harshness of the dark shadow, I made the eyelashes white. This also reduces the femininity of the look. 

Analogous:

This look consists of pinks and oranges. It is feminine as pink stereotypically connotes, but it more exaggerated than a typical beauty look. I wanted the pink to engulf the face and create a romantic, fairy-type look that is more fantasy than reality. I incorporated the coloured eyelashes again, as I find that this creates a fresh look and enables a continuance of pink rather than having black eyelashes that break the pattern. 

Then I re-created two of the looks on a person, thus discovering that looks that you plan on face charts may look good on paper but not necessarily when you create it in person.

I was not particularly happy with the resulting effect of this look. Firstly, I couldn't find a colour that was suitable and similar to the one that I want so was unable to do this, which I think means that the pink of the lip detracts attention from the purple eye as it is more vibrant. I like the eyeshadow on the inside of the eye, but the dots of yellow on the outside gets rid of the lengthening effect that was created by the yellow and purple lines. However I was pleased with the contouring and highlighting of the cheekbones. If I was to do this again I would keep it as a beauty look and get rid of all the yellow dots and just have eyeshadow.

 

I was much more satisfied with how this look turned out. I think that the pink and orange blends well together, and have a sunset effect especially when highlighter is applied to the cheekbones. If the eyebrows were blocked out, the pink that I applied on them would have been much more effective. The fact that the lipstick is matte means that it does not detract from the colours as I think that a shiny lipstick would make the face look too glossy. In addition to this, I like that the eyelashes and lips match in colour because adds colour but does not mean that too much is going on in the face. Overall I believe that this look went much better than the other.

Extreme Contouring

The photo of 'extreme contouring' that we were shown in class.

Contouring is for the dark areas of your face, namely where it concaves and where shadows are present, which is shown by the brown areas in the photo on the left. Highlighting is used on areas such as the forehead, the bridge of the nose and under the eyes. This is because these are the areas that you wish to have more focus on and accentuate features gently.








Where does contouring come from?

Contouring comes from the anatomy of the skull. When looking at a skull, the shadowy areas are more prominent and it becomes apparent which places need to be contoured and which areas need to be highlighted. Under the cheekbones and under the jaw is always where shadows are created.




Unrealistic contouring

Here are examples of extreme, unrealistic contouring used in everyday life. This is a misunderstanding about what contouring should do to the face and is horrendously exaggerated as it does not look natural. It is supposed to be subtle and enhance the face rather than completely transform it.

Demo

During our 'extreme contouring' lesson, Kat gave us a demo on how to create an extreme look meant more for editorials, not for everyday looks.

• Firstly, she applied the Illamasqua matte primer to prep the skin and make sure the base goes on without shine. 
• Next, she applied Kryolan's 'Supracolour' in the shade 'Tv White' using a flat topped stippling brush.
• Following this, she used an Illamasqua powder infused with pink to mattify the skin even more. 
• She then used dark, matte eyeshadows in brown and black by Screenface to create shadows under the cheekbone, below the eyebrow and across from the end of the eye. 
• To highlight, Kat used a pure pigment by Illamasqua on the top of the cheekbone, on the jawline, on the forehead, the nose and the chin. 
• You can blot and set the skin with powder before you contour if you want to contour with powders, but if you do not wish to do that and would like to contour with creams, after applying the white base do not powder the face. 
• Do not push the product into the skin with the end of the brush as it can get into the pores and give the model a skin infection, so press with the side of the brush. 

Extreme contouring by myself

 To create this look, I followed the steps that Kat showed us. However I also contoured the top of the forehead because I find that on some foreheads there are shadows to the sides, going down to the eyebrow. I also used different products as I only had what was available in my kit:

For this look I used:

• Illamasqua matte primer applied with Kryolan foundation brush
• Illamasqua skin base in 01 applied with Kryolan foundation brush
• Illamasqua translucent powder with Kryolan powder brush
• Kryolan Colour Medley- shadows in the shades 'Anis', 'Black Pepper' and 'Caraway' for darker areas, and 'Fennel' for the white areas using Kryolan powder brush
• Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo using highlighting shade 'Lumos' with Kryolan powder brush.

I particularly enjoyed creating this look because of the accentuated features it gives the face; it makes one look closer to the image of a skull, and gives a gothic and rugged image. It uses conventional methods such as darkening underneath the cheekbone, but with non-stereotypical colours that create an abstract illustration.

After this lesson I cleaned the brushes that I used with Kryolan brush cleaner so that they are hygienic and ready for the next use with no danger of contamination. 

Trip to London

We were fortunate enough to visit London on Friday the 10th of October in order to visit the National Portrait Gallery and numerous makeup stores such as MAC, Illamasqua and Charles Fox who also gave us a generous discount.

The Gallery:

It was very harrowing being so close to such old paintings that were in possession of famous people in history such as people like Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, John Donne and William Shakespeare. Unfortunately we were unable to take photos inside the gallery but witnessing them in real life was a brilliant experience.

This is Henry VIII by an unknown artist dated between 1540 and 1550. He is holding a gold sword, and it is noticeable that there is gold littered around his clothing. This represents wealth, power and connections with different areas of the world where he can access Gold. There is a small demon behind him which is also below, and this can suggest that Henry was the protector from such evil and since Royals were seen to be just below God in the tudor times, it is a sign that people should respect him for the holy figure he is. This would have also aided in his converting of the country completely to Catholicism. It is apparent that he is in his late 40's/ early 50's because of the grey hairs in his beard that have carefully been drawn on, and the intricate detail on his hands. Lastly, his stance is authoritative, strong and confident, which was expected of a king. I particularly love this portrait because of the elaborate clothing adorned with fur and numerous jewels and gold, along with the oriental-type rug that he is standing on.

Elizabeth I's coronation, painted in approximately 1600 by an unknown artist. I thought this painting was particularly eye-catching due to its unrealistic positioning. For example the cape is perfectly draped across her, her waist is eye waveringly thin and she seems to be holding the globe with ease, but this is what drew me to the painting because it is a representation of her perfect abilities and undoubted royalty. I noticed while looking closely that not only is she deathly pale but the painter even drew blue veins on her forehead; a trend during this period. Interestingly her hair is down and unstyled, which was probably because this was during her coronation and she had not yet fully adopted the image and routine of a queen, and also had not yet found her true style.

Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard, 1575. The hair piece in this portrait is notable as she has a veil type accessory draped across to her shoulders. Again, she has the tiny waist and has almost completely white skin, which shows she wanted consistency in what she looked like in her portraits and wanted to be the exact desirable image during the Elizabethan era. Like the portrait of her father, she has large shoulder padding which can signify dominance and prestige. Much like the other paintings I have mentioned, I love the detailed, textured fabric of the clothing and elaborate jewellery. Elizabeth's hair in this is very tightly curled in a corkscrew fashion which was stereotypical during this time.

Elizabeth I by Marcus Gheeraerts, 1592. Elizabeth is visibly older in this painting, shown by the frailness in her face, her sunken eyes and (minimal) wrinkles. The pale skin is obviously a consistent look that Elizabeth had throughout her years because she still has it within this painting. Again, veins on the forehead have been painted on which make her look old and frail, however this was not how it was seen at the time. There is clear symbolism here, she is standing on the world which tells the viewer that she is extremely powerful, and the painter has made counties of the UK visibly clear, making it obvious which country she rules. I chose to talk about this painting because I was drawn to how her 'cape' looks like wings, and the overall large padding of her clothes.





Makeup stores:

Unfortunately due to time constraints, I was only able to visit the MAC Pro store and the Charles Fox store. Despite this, I was still able to fully look around and be in awe of all the fantastic products available.

It was fascinating being able to visit a Charles Fox store in the flesh rather than trawling through their website where I was able to have a look at the vast amount of products and ask questions. There was an array of brushes on a large section of one wall which blew me away; I never knew there could be so many brushes available but there were so many to choose from I ended up not even being able to make up my mind. I love that in this store there is makeup for a multitude of purposes, such as scar covering, prosthetics, beauty, drag and many more.

Image taken from Google as I was too flabbergasted
 by the store to remember to take a photo!

Admittedly, I enjoyed my experience in MAC more due to my love for their products. I love the professional, clean look of MAC's packaging, their advertisements, their stores, array of purposeful products and minimalism. I appreciate the fact that they have foundations and concealers that have a multitude of colours and consistencies for all types of skin. Moreover, their more over top of the products like the glittery pigments (one of which I purchased- a white glitter that reflects pink) are particularly appealing to me, and the fact that they have so many colours and consistencies of them enables for diverse looks. There are many products that I would like to purchase from the pro store, such as multiple colours of their 'Face and body foundation' and 'Pro Longwear concealer'.

Colour Theory

Colour theory is a guidance for colour combinations and the visual effects of particular mixes.

Colour schemes is a combination or arrangement of colours, usually to be used in media or interior design to create a certain style or create a certain appeal.

Colour wheel is an illustration of different colours and the relationships between the primary, secondary and tertiary colours.

Analogous Colours: Similar shades of colour, colours that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel. Usually, the dominant colour is a primary or secondary colour, and the complimenting colours are tertiary colours.

Complementary colours: Opposite colours on the colour wheel.

Achromatic colours and neutral colours: Achromatic colours are colours such as white, black and all shades of grey. Neutral colours are natural colours such as beiges and creams etc.

Chromatic colours: Actual colours such as green, red and blue.

Monochromatic colours: All the colours of a hue. For example all the tints, tones and shades of blue.

Cool and warm shades: Cooler shades are more greyish and have blue green to blue violet undertones. Warmer shades have red, yellow and brown undertones.

Colour context: How colour behaves in relation to other colour and shapes. For example red looks vibrant against a black background, and also squares look bigger on a black background:

Colour harmony: Something that is aesthetically pleasing. It engages the viewer and creates a sense of order and balance.

Words to describe colour: Light, dark, pale, matte, shiny, satin, deep, intense, dull, muted, clear, cool, warm, dynamic.

Relative attributes that define all colours:

• Lightness (Light vs Dark or Black vs White)
• Saturation (Intense vs Dull)
• Hue (Graduation or variety of a colour- its tint or the general colour that it is)