Bell Dress and Mask Painting

I have always had a love of fabrics and clothing, and in my parallel life as a designer, pattern cutter & maker, the fashion drawing and illustration process has always been important. Painting portraits of wedding dresses and other clothing, came as a natural progression. I have always carried on my artwork alongside designing and making, and I’d had an itch to make oil pastel paintings of clothing for a couple of years, but work always got in the way. When the wedding dress painting idea came up, I began by using oil paint on canvas for a more voluptuous look. Clothing has always been very meaningful to me for many reasons, and with the portraits I wanted to project an ethereal atmosphere, with a dramatic, theatrical edge through photo editing as a starting point. Having always used marker pens for my design drawings, I decided to try them as an ‘ideas’ medium. The results are graphic and simple, on smooth Bristol board, with a fresh translucence, almost like a watercolour. I have catholic tastes, and this is reflected in my work.