David Foldvari

13/12/2014

I've blogged about this artist before, a firm favourite of mine. I love his use of black and the composition that he executes.

He makes some very political statements that people can't ignore. Something I very much admire in today's climate.

The mix of simple lines with some areas of exceptional detail, make for some interesting concepts.

Debt

Untitled

Untitled

There is a bluntness in Foldvari's work, something that makes his illustrations unique to the political agendas of today.

Alphonse Mucha

13/12/2014

After studying the work of Christer Stromholm, I thought about other 'French' art that captures the decadent nature of certain cities. The founder of Art Nouveau, Alphonse Mucha has to have a mention here. The aesthetic nature of his work, showing the female form with intoxicating swirls and colours, is something that may lend itself to my project.

Job, 1896

The Precious Stones, Ruby, Amethyst, Emerald, Topaz, 1900

Lance Parfum Rodo, 1896

I find his style extraordinary for the time period. A very technical ability mixed with a graphic design, that wouldn't be out of place today.

His use of borders and flat colour is very appealing and how these relate to the main subject is something that I'd like to try and investigate for the subjects of my work.

Hellraising Heidi!

9/12/2014

After talking to one of the students at uni about my project, she got me in touch with a friend who does drag shows.

Oliver lives in Sheffield, although originally comes from Derbyshire, Belper in fact. My mother and sister live there as do Oliver's! This meant we were practically related. I arranged with him to do a quick photo shoot at his mothers house.

As I walked up the drive of his house, I wasn't sure what to expect. T-Girls are different to Drag Queens as it turns out, and I didn't really know if I should handle Oliver aka 'Heidi' any differently.

All my fears subsided as the door opened and I was met with a heavily made up face but still in his 'civilian' clothing.

'Aye-up mate' was the welcome and after a quick introduction he said he'd be about twenty minutes to finish getting ready.

Oliver looks a little like the late 'Corey Haim'.

We kept on chatting from different rooms as he changed in to 'Heidi'.

Heidi: 'Have you ever zipped up a gay guy in drag?'

Me: 'Nope!'

Heidi: 'Well.......you're about too.'

It's not often that I'm speechless but this was definitely one of those occasions......as Heidi stepped out of her bedroom.

I was pretty astounded by the transformation. I don't know if it was because of the statuesque figure in high heels, or the fact that Heidi is only 22 years old, compared to the retired men that I have been photographing as T-Girls, but there was a different aura about her entirely!

I was happy with the reference photos, especially with the shadows we were able to get and I'm looking forward to working on the images.

It was also interesting to see the transformation of Heidi, back to Oliver. This is something that needs addressing in the project.

The Lovely Lana

9/12/2014

After visiting The Attic again for reference material, I had the pleasure to meet another regular there. Lana has been coming to The Attic for a while now, the only reason I've never met her before is because she does shows in Benidorm.

Lana differs from Gillian, in that she only spends roughly three days of the week as a man, and this is only to carry out some essential chores which would otherwise prove difficult as Lana.

Lana is a little easier to direct for reference photos and is more forthcoming generally, in front of the camera. I can only imagine this is because of the shows she does abroad.

Unfortunately she wouldn't show me her routine.

Shadow's are where it's at!

9/12/2014

Carrying on from the Christer Stromholm post, I decided to use one of his photos as reference for a new direction in technique. I realised that my previous work on this project has not really involved shadow in the photos I have taken. This has meant I have unconsciously drifted away from the style I am used to.

I picked a Stromholm photo that makes good use of facial shadow (of which there are many) and decided to have a go at another rough image.

I decided to use pro-marker directly on to the paper, without a pencil reference first, which has resulted in a slight mis-match in the eyes. I'm not too bothered about this as it was just an exercise for the sketchbook. My black pro-marker also ran out of ink.

I then scanned it in to photoshop and worked on it some more.

This is getting closer to what I want to achieve. The reference to Place Blanche and a certain French poster quality is quite appealing too. I will look in to the Art Nouveau movement, as the whole feel of those particular art works, has an aesthetic that appeals to my project topic.

Christer Stromholm

13/11/2014

I have been looking at the work of Christer Stromholm in a bid to see what other images there are of the transgender. Stromholm photographed the transexuals of Place Blanche Paris, made infamous because of the relationship to Moulin Rouge.

Stromholm captures the gritty, seedy nature of this place magnificently. The stark, black and white images only enhance an underlying feeling of emptiness.

I want to capture something similar to this in my work. I'd like to mix a humorous theme, with a more dark nature. This fits my style more than the work I've been trying to do of late.

Jacky

Pepita

Carmen

The pictures were taken in the 1950s and 60s. The idea that a group of people living on the outside of society in a kind of 'commune', is appealing to me in terms of this project. The transexuals seemed to have created their own environment, which lends itself to illustration. The fact it is in France has also given me an idea to promote the project in a French Poster format.

Time to pick up a pencil again.

12/11/2014

After my concept panel it was suggested I should explore this project in a more visual manner. Going back to my sketchbook I am still trying to figure out how I'm going to execute the work.

I decided to have a go at some quick sketches using a pen, so the first mark matters and I can't erase it once it's on the paper. This is an important skill in reportage and has the benefit of quickly logging down visually, the important information from a picture/subject.

I only spent a few minutes on each sketch and although I'm happy with the results, I'm feeling a bit rusty in this area. I tried something with a bit more time spent on it for the next one.

Again, I used pen straight to paper, this time concentrating on not drawing the figure with a complete outline to give the illusion of form. From this I wanted to have a go at something more 'finished', to grasp if I'm going in the right direction.

Still not convinced.

Going to try something with pro markers, to get a smoother finish to the original drawing.