Art Gowns Gallery Project

On By ResaIn Art Gowns Art106 Comments

Where can I take the Art Gowns?

{Painted canvases are atop, the original pics are below.}

It would take someone savvy to wear an Art Gown. Fact is, some of the back tails are 7′ long. There can be side tails and front tails. Of course, I can tame tails for a fashion show.

 Well, I had 10 of the photos I took for their blog printed on canvas. Then, using iridescent acrylic paint, I high-lit,  filled and/or embellished the canvas.

Of course, with the iridescent paint, one needs to view the paintings from certain angles in various lightings.

I have done 10 paintings in this “Art Gowns Iridescent” collection.

I entered them in an art show, but have never heard anything back. Friends say I am too, niche, more unique than they can sell.

 I’ll be doing a second 10 piece collection. The chosen Art Gowns will be printed in black and white. Strong colours will be abstractly influenced.

Anyway, good chance of getting in a show in about a year, and I will have 2-10 piece collections.

For now, here are 5 of the 10 canvases I have done. The iridescent quality is insanely difficult to capture. Did my best. I’ll post the other 5 later.

Below, “Art Gowns Iridescent” pieces are side by side. The original is on the left. The canvas print with iridescent paint is on the right.

Can you see the difference?

MYSTIC LAKE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LA ESENCIA DE TITANIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUTUMN ORCHID

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATHENA GRAFFITI GODDESS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MNEMOSYNE

(The only Art Gown piece unreasonable to display side by side)

Art Gowns & all Art Gowns Art © Resa McConaghy

2014 -2019

A new Art Gown has been started. I’m thinking 3 months, unless ……

Mademoiselle Emily

On By ResaIn Romance156 Comments

Did you ever channel a white cat, a wedding gown and  Jean Harlow?

Well then you know it comes out an Art Gown, and that Art Gown is dedicated to;

Georgiann Carlson from Rethinking Life blog. Georgiann’s blog is full of art, Chicklets, creative writing, flowers, Chicago, Emily and opinions.

Deciding it must be a Harlow 1930’s style movie star gown, dictated a bias cut.

Admittedly, being a rank amateur in working with bias, I was cursed with many problems. Nonetheless, it’s a challenge I’ve wanted to tackle for a long time.

Designers, like Chanel and Vionnet,  championed the anti-corset generation. Finally, women could feel more comfortable in their clothes.

At a liquidation sale, I found an 18″ wide bordeur lace for $0.50/yard.

What costs $0.50 these days? I bought 75 yards.

Thinking like a cat, I decided to shred the lace.

Using scissors for claws, I deconstructed the 18″ wide lace into many strips of lace; 3/4″ – 2″ wide. I also got many decals out of it.

The decal 2nd from the left, was gathered up into the flowers that adorn Mademoiselle Emily.

At the same sale, I found an old high quality satin coat lining for $0.75/yd.

The fabric was cut on bias, à la Madeleine Vionnet. (Click on left side pic  to read about this amazing designer.

The bias fell on the Judy for about 10 days, before it was cut into.

Mademoiselle Emily has many gorgeous angles.

 ⭐️Mini-Me has a special announcement! ⭐️

by Holly – House of Heart

She is fine

like Dynasty porcelain.

Her words are the chimes of

a host of carillons that ring

True and wise, as clear as bells.

Her hair is a storm

Of Harlow platinum

eyes, a deluge of diamonds.  

Not to give in to Winter

She winks  over her shoulder,

saunters Emmy’s catwalk

adorned in Chanel and Lavender. 

OUTTAKES

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Mademoiselle Emily looks out to the dining room. The other Art Gowns were aghast when she announced that there would be no dinner party, and that she would prefer to paint a portrait of each Art Gown.

Now, the Art Gowns are bickering over who will be first to sit for her!

We all know cats have 9 lives. Here are 9 tails, one for each of Mademoiselle Emily’s 9 lives: 1. a small pointed front tail w/ dagger  – 2. one handsome centre back tail w/ lace trim –  3. two side back tails of voile w/picot lace border – 4. 2 x side centre voile w/picot fluffs – 5. Center back fluffy tail

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Tails become tales in a who-done-it with humour, about a man becoming who he has pretended to be. I have it in my mind that there are 9 tales, like a cat has 9 lives. The next book is “eight black lives”.

Nicky is an actor, vain, jaded and tired of Hollywood fluff. He holes up, brooding in his New York apartment only to accept yet another “detective” role scheduled to shoot in his grey and gritty home turf. As stalkers move in and a real life murder taps him on the shoulder, Nicky enters a dangerous Neo Noir world. Peril looms to all those around him, including his love Lara and their unborn son. With the chill of premonition creeping over him, and wielding his “detective” skills, Nicky must awaken the true man within before time runs out.

You can read it for free. Just click on the cover and download the PDF.

Art Gown Mademoiselle Emily designed & made: © Resa McConaghy

Story & Character Art Gown Mademoiselle Emily © Resa McConaghy

Photos © Resa McConaghy

Poem: Gigi © Holly Hunter

♥️Thank you, Holly!♥️

🌹Many Thanks to Georgiann for all her inspiration. She has written 2 books. If you visit her blog you will see them on her sidebar. Click on them, and you will be able to buy them.🌹

Here is something I’ve never shown on Art Gowns, before now.

From the first scraps of an idea, to the end product.

It’s a long & fab journey!

Johnny photo bombs the shot when Resa tries to capture a dramatic moment with Mademoiselle Emily.

Goodnight!

Art Gowns Art & Updates

On By ResaIn Art of Past Art Gowns120 Comments

Fourth in my series of “Art of Past Art Gowns” is Flora Blanca. It is my intention to artistically express all of the Art Gowns, after the fact.

Flora Blanca was inspired by my niece, Sherrie, who is my muse/model for this rendering.

Flora Blanca is embellished with flowers, and is herself designed in the shape of an Orchid.

She is one of the most popular Art Gowns.

 

Artemis by Moonlight
Flora Blanca
Lady Anne
Mnemosyne

 

 

 

 

 

Above are the 4 Art Gowns I have rendered, to date. Click on thumbnails, for larger views. So far, each has a muse/model. For Artemis & Mnemosyne it is Aquileana. Lady Anne is Holly & Flora Blanca is Sherrie.

Holly from House of Heart wrote a poem for me based on an old polaroid. This bit of Art Gowns Art is my “thank you”.

Turns out we both adore the poetry of Leonard Cohen, especially his poem, “Suzanne”.  I was moved to depict Holly, as Suzanne. Above, Holly Suzanne, is expressed with stained glass hair.

Above is my first Holly Suzanne. Then a friend asks, why are your girls all so disproportionally tall and thin?

Well, I studied at a Fashion College. That’s where I learned to draw tall and thin. Nonetheless, I made a stab at a Holly Suzanne with more normal proportions. (above). It feels awkward, to me. Which do you like better?

You can click on the poem to enlarge it for reading, OR Click on the polaroid of “Resa and the Rock Star” to read the poem in its original glory on Holly’s blog!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Art Gown post, Contess Fiori, featured spotlights on 2 of my fave Romance Authors. These 2 writers are very prolific. Both have released new books since.

Shehanne Moore released His Judas Bride, and is re-releasing The Unravelling of Lady Fury with this new cover!

Look at those gowns!

Click on the covers & be transported to Amazon where you can buy a paperback, or ebook. Lady Fury link to be added once Shey formally re-releases it!

Carolee Croft has released the 3rd book in her trilogy about Ariella, a powerful warrior when women weren’t warriors.

I’ve read book one, and I loved it! Click on the covers to go to the .com Amazon to buy a paperback, or Ebook. The Trilogy is also available on Amazon in the U.K., Canada, and Australia.

The next “Art of Past Art Gowns” rendering will be “Ballroom Lux”. She won’t be blonde, promise!

All Art Gowns created by & © Resa McConaghy

All Art Gowns Art © Resa McConaghy

Reminder! To visit any Art Gown: scroll down the sidebar, find an Art Gown, click on the pic to visit her space!

Contessa Fiori

On By ResaIn Romance, Royalty144 Comments

Could I create an Art Gown, who is both romantic & castle worthy?

I turned to romance novelists Shehanne Moore & Carolee Croft, and castle photographer Inese.

This Art Gown is dedicated to them. They are as gorgeous as the Contessa Fiori.

My fave fabric shop had a going out of business sale. (boo hoo!) I bought black curtain sheer for $1.00/yd. & a men’s suit lining for $0.75/yd.

However, the challenge actually began when a friend gave me an East Indian vintage vest (with inset mirrors) and part of a collectible saree.

I took apart the vest, & over-dyed the fronts black.

The saree ran from a red floral print to a black w/floral print. Cut into squares, 10″x 10″ & 4″x 4″ they were backed in black curtain sheer, & bagged out. The squares were gathered from the centre out to all 4 corners, forming the flowers. Torn strips of the sheer were braided, and used to trim the sheer side panels.

The bow pieces, forming the bustle, came out flat. They were stuffed with used bubble wrap to fluff them out.

It was about then that Mini-Me told Contessa Fiori about the castles in Ireland.

To visit Inese’s post about Kilkenny Castle, click on pic.

Well, the Contessa began to dream about how perfect she would be for castle life.

Contessa Fiori told the other Art Gowns about castles, & showed them pics on Inese’s blog, where you will see more than castles. Visit Inese’s blog by clicking on pic below.

All Castle photos © Inese MJ Photography

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When I told the Art Gowns I was definitely not buying them a castle, they all got in quite the huff. The Contessa strew her flowers all about herself.

OUTTAKES

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Contessa Fiori & Mini Me thank all for visiting Art Gowns.

🌹Special thank you’s to Carolee Croft, Shehanne Moore & Inese 🌹

To read the blurbs about these fab books, click on the covers, or banners Please note the 2 books from Carolee are 18+

💐 I’ve read Carolee’s  books, “Ariella’s Escape” & “The Greyhounds of Sorrento Book 1”. I enjoyed both a lot, but the 2 books offered today, reflect the era of Contessa Fiori. 💐

Visit Carolee’s Blog

http://viewBook.at/EngagedtotheEarl – by Carolee Croft

♞ I’ve read “Splendor”, & really enjoyed it! I’m 1/2 way through “Loving Lady Lazul”. I adore being swept into a different era. ♞

 

https://t.co/Bmdr9TlIEa  Amazon UK  Kindle 99p

https://amzn.to/2NZ11dq   Amazon UK Paperback 10.99

https://amzn.to/2P7x87l      Amazon.com  Kindle 1.29

https://amzn.to/2DSmznC   Amazon.com Paperback  14.00

Visit Shehanne’s Blog

 

https://amzn.to/2QDwejp  2.98$ Amazon.com

https://amzn.to/2Oid8CK  £2.27 –Amazon uk

https://amzn.to/2PjuETp

https://amzn.to/2zYd5De

 

Art Gown Contessa Fiori created by © Resa McConaghy – 2018

All photos of Contessa Fiori © Resa McConaghy

Art Gowns & all Art Gowns Stories © Resa McConaghy 2012 – 2018

After the photo shoot, Mini Me sulked in a corner. She claimed her outfit wasn’t perfect.

Art Gowns Dazzle the Runway at the Coop

On By ResaIn Art Gowns Art, Art Gowns Guests118 Comments

✨✨ The runway was aglitter with the glamour of the Art Gowns modelled by some of the Coop’s most gorgeous Chicklets. ✨✨

“Good evening! My name is VIRGINIA, and I had the honour of being first onto the runway begowned in Empress D’Amore“

“Off the top, I’d like to thank the original Empress D’Amore for being here with me tonight. Together the Empress and I will be discussing the highlights of the Hallowe’en Fashion Show at the Coop.”

“Thank you, Empress!”

Hello Virginia, and the pleasure is all mine! Let me just say, in my most humble opinion, that yours was the most regal Art Gown in the show!

“I won’t argue that! Now, on with the show!”

Presenting: MIA in Mystic Lake

“So Empress, what can you tell the folks at home about Mystic Lake?

Well, Virginia, she was inspired by ducks, specifically a ceramic duck created by  Belén Soto

“So, are those feathers I see?”

They are faux feathers made from hours and hours of hand shredding an over-dyed cotton gauze.

“Fascinating”

Presenting: INA in Athena ⭐️Graffiti Goddess⭐️

“Do my eyes deceive me? Is this Art Gown entirely hand painted?”

Yes, Virginia! She took 6 months to paint. She is covered in Tarot and Astrology symbols that relate to the Goddess Athena.

“I supposed Aquileana helped Resa with that.”

It is Obvious, isn’t it!

Presenting: LACY in Mnemosyne

“Ah, Mnemosyne, mother of The Nine Muses.”

That’s right, Virginia! A statuesque beauty in anyones books.

“So does Aquileana help Resa with all of the Goddesses?”

So far, yes. According to Resa, she is very inspired to make Goddess Art Gowns.

 

Presenting: ISABELLE in Tenesa

“Hmm, how did this …erm.. gown get into the world of Art Gowns?”

Don’t be too, harsh on her. She really is quite modern, in a street way. She’s an alley rescue, you know.

“From the alley?”

Yes, Resa insisted on making her an Honorary Art Gown. One day it’s a cat rescued from the alley, the next day it’s a rescued gown.

 

  ⭐️ 💥 ⭐️ BEHIND THE SCENES ⭐️ 💥 ⭐️

” Last week, The Empress and I got a special behind the scenes peek.”

Virginia, it was a thrill to see the skilled & talented Chicklets working the art.

“Let’s take it away!”

IRIS – Working on Lady Anne

“Well, she’s a wild one! Kind of rock and roll.”

Some say steam punk, others say she’s a biker gown.

“She appears to be all leather & lace.”

It’s up-cycled leather, from Resa’s boyfriend’s old leather coat and pants.

“She looks familiar?”

Yes, Holly modelled this Art Gown for one of Resa’s sketches, recently.

LOIS & LILY pinning the flowers on Flora Blanca

“Flora Blanca seems to be one of the more popular Art Gowns.”

True, she is quite the refined Art Gown, made for Resa’s niece, Sherrie, and you know, people love flowers!

“Where can the fans see more of Flora Blanca and the other Art Gowns?”

All one has to do is scroll down the Art Gowns sidebar. When you find the gown you love, just click on it. It will take you to the original post.

Well, Empress, it’s been a wonderful evening!” 💖

Yes it has, Virginia! I’m hoping we get to host another event very soon. Perhaps, a Red Carpet!💖

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

All © Art Gowns are designed, made & photographed by:

Resa McConaghy 2013 – 2018

All Chicklets art © Georgiann Carlson

🌹🌹🌹THANK YOU, GEORGIANN🌹🌹🌹

Breaking News: Art Gowns Bicker over Chicklets’ Picks

On By ResaIn Art Gowns Guests50 Comments

It all began with Hollywood gossip that a couple of Resa’s Art Gown’s would make it into the Hallow’een fashion show at the The Coop.

Resa had sent leftover Art Gowns fabrics to The Coop. So Iris began using Resa’s fabric’s for the upcoming Hallow’een celebrations

Mnemosyne  was put in charge of keeping the Art Gowns entertained.

After all, she is the mother of The Nine Muses, and they are at the zenith of new age entertainment.

You may already know, but Lady Anne , (Holly) who is assisting, will be providing Motorcycle rides to The Coop participants on the big day.

Of course every Art Gown wants to be selected for this honour, but things have gotten carried away.

Empress D’amore thinks this, Blue Venus thinks that.

Still, the Art Gowns continue to argue over who will be picked.

For crying out loud, they are so spoiled and vain that each believes she is the most gorgeous.

Chicklets art by: Georgiann Carlson

💖 Thank you Georgiann! I am honoured to be in with the Chicklets! 💖

Dream of Love

 Oh, BTW, Dream Of Love is giving odds.

Interested?

Contact her at dol@dol.dol

Who do you think will be the chosen Art Gowns?

Do you have a fave?

 

Splendor – by Shehanne Moore

On By ResaIn Book Review, Romance98 Comments

 “Never judge a book by its cover, unless there’s a gown on it.”

Genre: Historical Romance.

Much like a game of chess; this tale has moves, and counter moves. Is it checkmate, or stalemate? Read the book to experience the final play!

Although a woman in days when women were mostly property, Splendor finds a self chosen path. She will marry Gabe, the man of her breast’s heart. He will become a man of the cloth. Together they will help the poor.

Enter: the Earl of Stillmore, a chessboard, two Kings, two Queens, four Bishops, four Rooks, four Knights and sixteen Pawns.

Shehanne’s characters are vivid, interesting and all with purpose. I particularly adore the settings she recreates of time and place. I’m amused by the very appropriate, and humorously creative names Shehanne has given her characters. All throughout the novel her wry sense of humour prevails, but never assails nor assuages.

The thing is, it is romance. It’s romance with all the ardour lovers find in love’s wake. The main scene of passion is quite worth the reading and waiting for. It reaches just a tad deliciously beyond cutting to waves crashing on rocks, fireworks or a volcano erupting.

Furthermore, the Art Gown in me feels a hearty prick of the needle at the main peril Splendor puts herself in. Drawn like a moth to the flame of fine silk every time she passes Madame Renare’s shop and without means, Splendor finds herself sinking deeper into debt. T’is dire! The turnkey of the debtor’s prison workhouse  is upon her doorstep.

“In italicized quotations” are excerpts from the book.

“Mrs. Ferret set the beribboned hair comb Splendor had found impossible to resist, the robin’s egg blue one with the tiny cream rosettes attached,”

A bill is presented:

“She had spent a little money, it was true. She hadn’t meant to, but now she was back in credit again. Why shouldn’t she have the odd this and that?”

Splendor is a Fashionista:

“she had perhaps gone a little far with the silk parasol and the shoes to match, but if she hadn’t, Topaz would have stolen them and ended up in Newgate. Then there was the matter of just how respectful Madame Renare had been when she’d seen the address and the name, the new one she’d furnished herself with. Lady Winterborne, Countess of Stillmore.”

Although unrequited, Splendor retains her arrogant impudence:

“And that comb, this peignoir, the new day dress with the lace insert in the bodice, were all very nice. Too nice to leave feeling neglected in the shop. And the comb had been reduced by half a guinea. She had saved him half a guinea by buying it.”

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦

I needed to ask Shehanne, whose blog runs the tagline “Smexy Historical Romance”,  a few questions.

1.  What does SMEXY mean?

A…an easy one this. It means smart and sexy which I like to think my heroines are even though they can behave incredibly stupidly at times.

2.  Where does the historical location inspiration come from… the castles and halls near where you live?

I squirrel. I find locations and ideas everywhere. With Loving Lady Lazuli– another book in the series–it was from visiting Mount Grace Priory, especially the monk’s cell there. It’s in Yorkshire actually and not what we’d know as a cell either. Catterton House in Splendor was based on a Georgian cottage where I then lived in Newport-On-Tay, except it wasn’t a cottage. It was a mansion build down the cliff face.

 3.  London Jewel Thieves – Where will I be able to read the ongoing serial?

As we speak Loving Lady Lazuli  which features Sapphire as the heroine and Ruby and Pearl as her sidekicks, is being formatted for kindle.. Now I have my rights back to this series I will be giving you the stories of Diamond, Jade and Amber. I may even yet turn Ruby into a heroine. I have an idea there.

Shehanne Moore is an author who writes historical romance novels. If you visit her Home Page , you will find out about all of her books.

Click on pic for better view

Take some time to visit Shehanne’s Blog Page, and you will realize that a very cute Pack of  Hamsters have hijacked her book reviews, interviews and other relevant endeavours. If you haven’t visited her blog, you should. You will enjoy the Hamsters & get to read a fab post! As crazy as it seems, I was inspired to draw a Hamster in a hamster gown, Hamstor Splendor. I hope Shehanne & all of her Hamster pals enjoy it!

You can pre-order “Splendor” in ebook format, on Amazon! It comes out October 1, 2018, with a hard copy following soon after.

Click on “Splendor”  to pre- order!

 

My First Fashion Film – Golden Pearl

On By ResaIn Uncategorized53 Comments

⭐️ LOVE this gown! ⭐️ Julia Luedtke, my fave up and coming fashion designer does not disappoint! The world is her oyster, and she’s already found a beautiful pearl, a Golden Pearl!

Julia Streetstyle Blog

Design by Julia Luedtke
Film directed by Tosh Leykum

English version:
Golden Pearl – Fashion by Julia Luedtke. The dress, the accessories & the head piece are inspired by the Golden City Prague as well as the city of Brno in Czech Republic.

In my opinion Prague is one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in Europe. I visited Prague twice so far and I absolutely loved it. The golden ornaments and the baroque influence inspired me for my design.

Before I started working on the dress I went to a fabric market in Hannover where I got a beautiful button with rhinestones as a gift. Also I found the sequin trim which fits perfectly to the button.
Right after that I came up with the first ideas of my design. Just a few days later I started looking for the fabric which was quite hard because I had…

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Art Gowns Art Update

On By ResaIn Art Gowns Art77 Comments

LADY ANNE, aka “Lady Rene Anne” modelled by Holly – House Of Heart.

⭐️ Thank You, Holly! ⭐️

Lady Anne was created for a lover, a musician & composer. He gave me his old leather coat & studded pants. I added Chantilly lace.

Below: I did a fantasy gown for “Gasperilla Pirate Festival”

Held almost every year since 1904 in Tampa, Florida, my creation (on paper only) is nostalgic of the festival’s Early days.

I adore this poem, which is definitely an Art Gowns poem.

                                                                         by: Leonard Durso ©

remembering
the way your gown fell
to the floor
as you almost shyly
stepped away
leaving it forlornly
abandoned
like my heart
this night

⭐️Big Thank You to Leonard for letting me use his poem!⭐️

Thank you to editor Louise White! She did an article in Asset Intelligence Newspaper  on me & Athena ⭐️Graffiti Goddess ⭐️, which was a tandem project with  Aquileana of La Audacia de Aquiles. She also gets a credit in the article.

Click on image if you want to read the article.

🦄 Big hugs & thank you’s are on their way to Aquileana in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

She has inspired me greatly with her posts on Mythology, Tarot and more. 🦄

I’ve sketched her in 2 of the goddesses we did together, Artemis & Mnemosyne, and am excited to sketch her in Athena in the near future.

Click on the sketch to the left to visit the post.

All Sketches & Art Gowns © Resa McConaghy

Visit any Art Gown by clicking on her pic on the side bar!

Film Quizzes: Stylish and Iconic Female Outfits

On By ResaIn Uncategorized31 Comments

Hope you have as much fun as I did taking this quiz! Yes, there’s gowns in it! Thank you Alex!

Alex Raphael

I was on Art Gowns’ latest post and as usual, was blown away by her talent. On the comments section we discussed how I had done many film quizzes, but none as yet on fashion. So remedying that is my latest quiz which celebrates the beauty and originality of female outfits over the decades. As these looks are so timeless, it felt wrong to chronicle them, so the order is random. How many of the films they’re from can you get? Which grabs your attention the most?

Fashion Film 1

Red dress Film 2

Fashion green Film 3

fashion white dresses Film 4

fashion blue ball Film 5

fashion marilyn Film 6

fashion in movie Film 7

Fashion outsideFilm 8

fashion yellow Film 9

fashion blue Film 10

wallup.net Film 11

Fashion in films Film 12

Film Quiz - Inspirational Women Film 7 Film 13

fashion thandie newton Film 14

fashion suicide squad.jpg Film 15

Answers below

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