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Judy on a Tuesday: Fashions for May and June

5/22/2012

First of all, I can't believe I never posted these, as I have had them scanned since ages ago! I must have forgotten (sheesh). But I guess they are timely since it's now May and we're heading into June. I have two more costumes for Judy from Volume 26 that I will try to post this week and then I'll have to get to work on the next volume!

Also, Weebly has done horrible things with the formatting on here (why do they randomly change a blog style ~ I hate that!). So again, I am thinking of moving elsewhere where I can control my own creative space a little more. I like the convenience of some of the things here at Weebly (and it's a very nice platform for non-designers/non-coders, but I am used to being able to set my own agendas and I don't like when some outside force comes in and "improves" on things you are perfectly happy with in the first place.

And the site just timed out on me AGAIN. Grrrrr.

In better news, I found my Frank Merriwell files (I had dumped from out of Dropbox onto the desktop of my other computer, so yay! They are saved! I am visiting my sister for the holiday weekend, so I won't be able to post the final plates until next week sometime, probably, but at least I don't have to rebuild everything!

Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Boys; or, the Start across the Continent

5/15/2012

April 17, 1897: The title on this one is pretty self-explanatory. I forgot to do his hat again (I owe two hats now). The bicycle on this was such an incredible stretch for me that I quibbled over it for weeks! So that's why it took me so long. I finally just made up my mind to paint something approximating an 1890s bicycle and be done with it. Otherwise it would drag on forever and I'm trying much harder to finish things that I start.

Unfortunately, while all that quibbling was going on, I accidentally deleted all my other Frank Merriwell files (argh! fie on you, Dropbox!). That's the first time I've ever done anything to stupid, and now I have to rebuild everything to make printable plates. I can't tell you how much that stinks. So it may not happen any time soon. In the meantime I thought I would post Bicycle Frank even if he's missing his background stand thing (which he needs to cover his feet). He'll be properly finished in the plate.

Fashion Plate Friday: 1839

5/11/2012

Just a quickie for Fashion Plate Friday! This one was originally published in Le Follet (a Paris magazine), in November of 1839.

Love the green dressing/smoking gown with the red lining and cap ~ also the little gold slippers. The other two gents are wearing evening clothes (at left), and (at right) what looks like a typical day-to-evening frock (more casual than the dinner tails).

Aside from the clothes, I really love the ghosted-in room decor: the fireplace, candelabra, etc.

Click on the image to see more details!

Absinthe drinkers by Jean Béraud

5/4/2012

Here is a lovely painting of two late 19th century pub dwellers sharing a bottle of absinthe. Can't date this precisely, but the hat tells me it's as late as 1900 or thereafter. Still, I wanted to include it because I love the candid expressions (aren't they just so full of ennui?).

The painter is Jean Béraud, who did a lot of wonderful moody impressionist work. I actually like this image more than the famous painting by Degas; particularly for the gorgeous bottle of absinthe on the table. Delicious!

Will be getting back to paper dolls this weekend. Also, Weebly has been timing out on its server (I've had to rewrite this post four times already and it's been happening all week) and connecting to the site has been a problem as well.

I am thinking it might be time to move this blog to a better location.

A couple of 19th century costume treasures

5/2/2012

Neither of these images is Photoshopped and unfortunately, I can't recall where on the web that I found them originally. But I think they are hilarious (and a little weird). A good reminder that our ancestors were not a bunch of prim God-fearing people who never smiled (smiling was difficult for photos because it's hard to hold a natural smile for the length of time it took for the exposure).

Anyway, here at left we have two theatrical critters: Hedgehog and Rabbit. Hard to tell when it was taken ~ can't even hazard a guess. Even the style of the coats is likely "costume" and not contemporary.

This second picture is easier to date because the woman is dressed quite normally (so I would place this in the 1870s based on her hairstyle and dress style.

Who knows who the person in the diving suit is ~ probably a man, maybe her husband? Diving suits of this type were still experimental (Jules Verne made much of them in this era, as did other adventure story writers). I like to think this couple, aside from being adventurers themselves, had quite a fine sense of humor to want to take this portrait, which sort of sets typical classic portraiture on its end.

Fun stuff!

Bicycle Boots from the 1890s

5/1/2012

Alas, I have no Frank to post today because I did no painting last night. But I don't want to lose the momentum of posting, so I am sharing with you today something in a similar theme: a pair of woman's bicycle boots from the 1890s. These are in the collection at the Minnesota Historical Society and have an interesting provenance: they were made by the North Star Shoe Company in Minneapolis and worn by a woman who later ran for City Council and served as a land patent attorney in the 1940s. She was obviously a woman ahead of her time and these shoes are totally awesome!

Judy on a Tuesday: Fashions for May and June

Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Boys; or, the Start across the Continent

Fashion Plate Friday: 1839

Absinthe drinkers by Jean Béraud

A couple of 19th century costume treasures

Bicycle Boots from the 1890s

Paper Dolls Downloads

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