I am pushing myself to try to overcome my fear of color with timid results so far. I had really wanted this to be a blue coat with a red vest, but just couldn't do it. At the last moment I opted for the much safer grey. Neverthless, the results are encouraging (click on the picture to see a larger image).
There's nothing quite like having a finished piece to look at; makes you feel pretty accomplished, even if you've chickened out on what you set yourself to do on some level. At the very least, painting these pieces has got me back into the "mode" of painting (and so I have overcome a little bit of that rustiness that sets in between projects).
You may notice (or not) that this is a new body for James. I just couldn't deal with the other one. It was too anemic-looking and too clothed! You'll see below that the new body is less dressed and a good deal more hairy (eeek!). But I guess I have always imagined James to be rather a manly-man in this regard and so I'm much happier with the result, though painting the hair was sort of weird (not bad for a first try, though).
I also painted a sort of poet's shirt with a French collar (not common in America, yet) and a glass of brandy. The brandy came out great (it's not well-reproduced here in the small scan), but the shirt is rather ill-fitting (I didn't measure properly. So I'll either fix it or make a new one.
Oh, and I love the shoes here. Most of my other characters either wear the same shoes (or type of shoes) or their shoes are covered by skirts, etc., so it's fun to give James some interesting and different shoes. These could be dress shoes, but just as likely might not.
The whole outfit hearkens later Victorian, though the coat style was popular from the 70s to the 90s. The cravat is older-style (as early as 40s), but it's the style James favors. Also, the hat is more 50s-60s, but it's the hat James wears pretty much ever-after the Civil War. But because of the coat and on account of the shoes, which are a more particular late-style, I'll call this ensemble late 80s.
The image below shows the arrangement of the painting on the actual page. I tend to squeeze things in where I can so to maximize the paper.
The great find of recent weeks has been Google Books digitized volumes of the Gazette of Fashion from Edward Minister and Son, who were tailors and habit makers for the queen (you can see a sample here). I don't know every magazine that was ever published in the 19th century in America, but I do know that I have no knowledge of any American counterpart that would be similar to this particular one that might have been running as early as the 1860s. The Gazette is wonderfully illustrated, but even though it's great that Google Books has digitized a handful of volumes, it's unfortunate that the digitization was done somewhat slipshod.
The Gazette contained lovely fold out pages (in full color!), but Google Books did not attempt to capture these at all, it appears (you can see the fold in the picture above from an 1866 issue). It's too bad since the color pictures look really wonderful and it would have been great to see more examples of the use of color in men's clothing since I have such a terror of color and don't do well mixing and matching.
The image at the right is an example of a typical black and white plate (from an 1869 issue). The detail on the clothing is excellent. Edward Minister and Son focused on suits and coats, including coats for women and clothing for boys. Throughout the magazine are some lovely examples of riding habits for women, winter coats, walking coats, sporting outfits, dusters, etc. The array of styles for men is pretty staggering and each issue contains patterns and articles on textiles, seasonal fads, etc.
I always tend to think of men's clothes as fairly limited then: a few styles of frocks and coats, but everything generally similar. In a full year of the Gazette there might be upwards of 75 different plates, all showing variations not only in the coats, but in the trousers as well (so many patterns!). There is an immense wealth of grist here. Now I just need to settle in and actually do the work! I'm looking forward to it, though, while most people couldn't afford the extravagance of so many different suits and coats, men of wealth and leisure ( and certainly royalty!) had more options than I ever imagined. It will be fun to see what sort of things I can use for my various characters.
* This post was reproduced from my Reconstruction website (where you will see why I have been too busy to post here, I hope).
Peterson's magazine was practically a staple for ladies in the American Victorian home. Next to Godey's Lady's Book, it was certainly the most popular. Published monthly, it contained stories, fashion plates (both hand-colored and black & white engravings), advice on home management (furnishing, cooking, maintenance, and sewing), poetry, songs, embroidery patterns, and much more.
Many women saved the magazine for its tips and illustrations, and if it was economically feasible for them, had it bound. This edition in my collection is from 1867 and once belonged to Jennie L. Howard.
Peterson's Magazine hasn't been published in over a hundred years, but its popularity with collectors (particularly for its fold-out colored fashion plates), is rivaled only by that of Godey's. Both single loose issues and bound volumes can readily be found at antiquarian book stores and auctions, but prices can vary radically depending on the age, condition, and contents of the magazine. I got a bargain when I found this volume online for less than $20. I love it not only for its plates but because it's a window into the popular culture of the 19th century, its trends, attitudes, and amusements for women of a growing middle class.
I have some more plates to share from Peterson's from my personal collection, but they are not from this particular volume.
Wanted to just get kick-started with posting some clothing (the dolls are no longer wandering around undressed, though I admit the women still don't have proper skirts yet. I'll remedy that soon, but meanwhile here are all the tops I've been working on. For the women, they are all 60s-style (mid-to-late). I did these without any particular plan in mind, so there's some mixed results, but I do like Emmaline's white lace blouse and Amy's blue ribbons.
I don't make clothing with the traditional fold-over paper doll tabs, but for your convenience, I added some here.
For the men, I am re-posting Morse's purple vest (in the proper size ~ and I will post the doll soon). I also made vests for James and Lewis. I wanted to put more detailing on James' red vest, but got a little skittish and didn't want to ruin in (I like the little gold leaves as a border).
Now that I have made a few clothing pieces, I think I have enough confidence to work on bigger and better stuff.
Next: some more dolls from my collection.
Today's couple is James and Emmaline Hunter. These dolls will probably have the largest variety of heads and clothing styles since they are older characters. James and Emmaline were married in 1844 and James has been for many years (to his dismay) a career soldier, which puts him in a pretty wide variety of uniforms throughout his life (from military academy to wars in the west, to the fall of the Confederacy). He doesn't mind the uniforms, though: he's a clothes-horse and loves fancy things. It also helps that he's fabulously wealthy so he can actually afford these things. Think: Count of Monte Cristo wealthy. Except that he didn't really do anything to earn the money.
Emmaline is almost her husband's diametric opposite. Where he's robust, egotistical and lusty, she's frail, humble, and pious. She comes from a Moravian religious community and would prefer to dress very simply, but the influence of her husband has corrupted her (just a little). She does all of her own sewing (and has the time and money to be extravagant) so she often sews for other people. James also often bribes her to wear fancy clothes now and then ("you put on a silk gown and we'll build an orphanage" ~ that sort of thing). So you can expect to see a pretty wild array of clothing for these two.
Notes on the doll construction: yes, Emmaline is very short. She's a tiny woman. Also, the current heads on these two are post-Civil War. I will be drawing antebellum heads for them as well as heads for when they are old and grey in the 80s-90s.
Lastly, I forgot to caution, for the purpose of downloading and playing with all of the dolls on this blog, I am posting them here with their heads attached. The dolls are actually designed with removable heads ~ not only to change their ages, but to accommodate various hairstyles, etc.
So, if you print the dolls, collars may not lay properly on their neck (and wind up covering their chins). To remedy this (if you are really desperate), print out two copies and cut one set's heads off. Then fasten those heads over the other set so that there is a gap underneath their chins. This was a style I adapted from Raphael Tuck, the difference being that the way mine are constructed, they are actually interchangeable, whereas Tuck's were generally pasted on.
Next time: More introductions or shall we look at something different?
I'm not going to inundate you with too much information, so I'll keep these brief and to context of the blog: who is who and how they dress.
Lewis and Amy met in Pennsylvania during the Civil War and married in 1869 (oh, those North/South romances!). They are a bit of an odd couple: she's adventuresome and high-spirited; he's reserved and intense. Amy is generally unconscious of how pretty she is. She likes some fashionable things, but isn't trendy and doesn't care for too many ruffles or lace. She also likes clothes that she won't mind getting rumpled. Lewis likewise doesn't follow fads, but likes his clothes clean, tidy, pressed. He'd be more inclined to do the laundry than his wife (and often does). Lewis is a dentist and the Fletchers are a middle-class couple (or as close as you can get to such in the 19th century). They have four children who I will probably show you all eventually.
Notes on the doll construction: yes, by God, I redid Lewis' body (again!). But this one is finally right and I'm keeping it (and I mean it!). More important: I love the faces on these two ~ Amy has the right childlike coyness and I finally managed to catch Lewis' bewilderment (he has problems dealing with the real world). I've always described him as having cat or lion-like eyes and I think I captured that too.
Finally, it occurred to me also that some people might like to download and print some of these dolls. The images I upload are not high-resolution, but might still be fun to play with, so I will be sure to scale all of the clothing to fit. Be sure to click on the image to get the full-sized image. Then right-click to save on your desktop. I am also creating tags so that you will be able to find each character and their wardrobes more easily.
Tomorrow: Another odd couple!
I had to do an errand,
Had to pick a peck of Snide
In a dark and gloomy Snide-field
That was almost nine miles wide.
I said, "I do not fear those pants
With nobody inside them.
"I said, and said, and said those words.
I said them. But I lied them.
~ Dr. Seuss (from The Sneetches and Other Stories, 1961)
It's a grief to me to make dolls sit around in a state of undress, so yesterday, after finishing the last two dolls, I painted three pairs of trousers for the men, at least (the women are so much more covered, it seems). This gave me the opportunity to paint something black, but not black (which is an art form all its own!). I used a very dark grey here for Morse's trousers, with some black on the edges and shadows. The result is decent. They look faded, though, so before I paint any evening wear, I'm going to have to perfect it.
All of these trousers here are all-purpose "bases" and not particularly specific to any period (though the boots on Lewis' pair would indicate it's post-1862).
Lovely commenter RLC asked about the who's who among these characters. When I started writing this blog, I was the only one reading it (ha!) so I never thought to try to "set up" any explanations. I promise I will remedy that shortly.
I ended the year with five dolls that I was pretty pleased with and pretty well decided that they were the "ones". Well I'm apparently more fickle than even I realized, but I think I have a good enough excuse. No, really. As I was designing clothes for the dolls that I had made, I realized I had made a terrible design flaw.
I had been careful to make sure that arms and legs were positioned in a way to be creatively covered up in a number of ways, except that I had forgotten to take into account that part of what would be necessary to cover up the arms in particular (and by this I mean designing clothes that effectively change the position of the body) was white space.
Normally that shouldn't be a problem ~ lots of doll artists do this! But I realized that once these dolls are done, I want them to be able to lay over backdrops (like in a display or on a bulletin board. random white space between arms and legs and whatnot would then be rather unsightly.
I had to correct this, so the old set of dolls had to go. I need bodies that won't require any white space and though it's a challenge to figure out a variety of positions that will meet the criteria, I think I've solved the problem. Even better, last night I drew all the dolls and this morning I have been painting them (the first three are shown here ~ as always, click on the image to see them larger).
The do-over was also a boon in some ways. It helped me think more carefully about some of the details like the lace on Amy's pantaloons. In the original version I had just willy-nilly thrown some scribble on there to give the sense of lace, but here I actually took the time to think out a specific design for it. I was also more careful with her corset and avoided the problem of too many black lines.
And even though, when unclothed, Morse and Lewis look like Power Rangers or something, their postures are better and I got to add a little more color (trying not to be so skeered of color!). And the best part is I don't have to redraw any of their heads ~ yay!
And just to prove that I'm not stalling, here's a collage of just a wee few of the many many design drafts I have been working on, clothing-wise.
Well I exceeded my ambitions in that I finished the whole set of characters (dollwise at least ~ they are still all in their undergarments, however, which needs rectifying!). I have to get to work on some other projects and don't want to spend too much time scanning them properly for now, but I thought I would at least post the "evidence" that they are, in fact, completed. The picture doesn't really do them justice since you can't see the lovely nuances of their faces, etc., but I will share them in more detail shortly. I have a few days left here before departing on vacation, but when I return, I will definitely begin working on their clothing.
All of their heads are detachable and the set I made here is definitely a Reconstruction-era set (James and Lewis both have scars from the war on their faces). I'd say these are roughly 1870s-1880s-appropriate. I'll be making various other heads to go with these dolls, including war-time heads and antebellum heads and probably 1890s heads. I actually did make a second head for the Amy doll (in profile), but I'm not 100% sure that I like it. I suspect she may end up having numerous extra heads since that's the best way to change her hairstyle.
I had wanted to make Christmas clothes, but I won't have time before the holidays. That's all right. I am pretty confident I'm keeping this set (at long last!). Whatever minor quibbles I may have with the various heads, I think the bodies are just right and I don't intend to remake them again. Emmie is a little more tiny than I intended, but I've always described her as tiny and then never really drawn her tiny, so I kind of like seeing how small she is here. Tiny!
This was tons of fun. I devoted much of the afternoon to getting them done and it was completely worth it.
When you have more than one doll to work on at a time, it's nice to be able to switch back and forth between the two (keeps things fresh and interesting). I'd painted a body for Morse last week, but hadn't done anything with it since. Tonight I made a head for it (click on the image so you can see it in better detail). The best thing about this head is that I think it really captures something about Morse than many of my other pictures of him fail at: namely the sort of serene, vapid look in his eyes. I've never thought of Morse looking especially wise or priestly. I think he can be austere and certainly frightening for the intensity of his gaze, but I think his predominant expression is one of mindless ease: he's in no hurry to get anywhere and no earthly matter can be so pressing as to cause him a moment's fretfulness. This is not to say he doesn't ever fret or that things don't concern him, but in general, he really ought to have this slightly glazed happy look on his face.
The chasuble here is just a scribble (I was trying to come up with a "Christmas" outfit of some sort and I figured he would wear gold at the Christmas mass). Now that the doll is complete (head and body), I will probably make a more concerted effort to make him some actual clothes.
Meanwhile, Amy's looking good so far. Transferred her over to the painting paper. I'll probably paint her and Lewis both tomorrow.
RSS Feed