Last time in Art Gowns Art, I expressed a desire to expand my style & ability.
Above is a an attempt at drawing a black model.
Then I felt like my drawings were stiff, so I began this Crazy Free Art to Music. There would be no belabouring, no erasing, no starting over. It’s just go, with the flow of the music.
The idea was to loosen up. It turns out some around me like the new approach better.
I also expressed that I wanted to illustrate all of my Art Gowns. Below is Natascha in O Royal Treasure. O Royal Treasure was dedicated to Ralph and Natascha for their wedding.
For O Royal Treasure, I tried a combination of my formal style w/the free style. Painting white on white is still very illusive to me. Just another thing Fashion illustration never taught me.
O Royal Treasure joins the gallery, which now stands at five: Flora Blanca, Mnemosyne, Artemis by Moonlight, Lady Anne & O Royal Treasure.
I found an old sketch in my archives, that I remember fondly. It was done for an interview to design the costumes for A House Divided,a Showtime Feature.
I belaboured for days over this sketch. The massive amounts of erasing at the tail exposes the fact. I got the job, in spite of my eraser!
{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)
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 MoonlightFlora BlancaLady AnneMnemosyne
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 Heartwrote 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!
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.
💐 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. 💐
🌹Thank you🌹to Georgiann Carlson. She made 10 “Art of Glamorous Fantasy” business cards for me. I chose the one below.
Rubber stamp art by: Georgiann Carlson
“Not so fast! As one of your very first Art Gowns, first to get to 175 likes, dedicated to your niece, Sherrie, and first post after the Art Gowns were evicted from Queen’s end,”
Flora Blanca
“I think I, Flora Blanca, am entitled to a say in this! I’ve picked out the card below, as I see it embraces us, the Art Gowns, and Resa.”
Rubber stamp art by: Georgiann Carlson
“Don’t be absurd Flora Blanca! Resa would never run around naked, not since that incident when she was 22. She makes the Art Gowns, and we are all very elegant.”
Mystic Lake
“Something sophisticated, like the Fitzgerald’s “Romantic Egoists” is in more order. The card below is the way to go. I’m sure Zelda would approve!”
“Mystic lake, I adore you and Flora Blanca, but really, the two of you are so pretentious! As the Empress d’Amore, I am highly educated, and qualified to be royally opinionated.”
Empress d’Amore
“Resa’s card should express the fact that we, the Art Gowns, are a collection. That she makes us from scratch, by herself. She is, after all, classically trained.”
Rubber stamp art by: Georgiann Carlson
“I treasure the Empress’ opinion. Her taste in fantasy business cards is impeccable.”
O Royal Treasure
“All due respect Empress D and O Royal T, you may both be royalty, but you are not from Fairy! Magic only happens in Fairy.”
La Esencia de Titania
“Resa’s card should express the coming of glyphs, a name askew & the bottom line. Simple, fun and to the point of magic is the way to go. As a 5 thousand year resident of Fairy, I say this card delivers that message!”
“Hello! I might be standing in the dark over here, but I can see you all clearly in the moonlight. However, I just don’t see your logic.”
Artemis by Moonlight
“The card should enforce the fact that Resa’s work is original, unique and glamorous! Voilà “
Rubber stamp art by: Georgiann Carlson
“I expected this cacophony from all of you Art Gowns, especially Artemis. You are always over analyzing the situation.”
Goddess Mnemosyne
“Simply put, the card should be of contemporary street art style and pointed at the brand. May I present the only obvious option!”
Rubber stamp art by: Georgiann Carlson
“I’m sorry Mnenosyne, I just don’t see the brilliance in that. Where’s the gleam and glow of the Art Gowns?”
Ballroom Lux
“I have no choice but to insist on the card below. It’s simple, yet emphasizes Resa’s ability, which results in us, the Art Gowns.”
“Wow! That is just not sexy enough. Lady Anne and I discussed this last night, and believe we have the perfect selection. Lady Anne!”
Cecilia Lionheart
“Thank you, Cecilia Lionheart!”
Lady Anne
“We now introduce, to all of you, the perfect card!”
Rubber stamp art by: Georgiann Carlson
“Look, you’re all right, and all wrong. Why can’t she just use the one she wants? Why can’t we all just get along, instead of bickering about the minutia of Resa’s life?”
Atlantis Mermaid Love-in
Hey! How did all of you gowns get out here? I thought I locked the door to the back yard?
Resa wears Tenesa
“You left your keys laying around one day. I found them and sent Mini-Me out to have copies made for all of us.”
Autumn Orchid
“Having explained that, I’d like to put my two cents in! This card is a modern classic, and really the one for Resa.”
As you can see,Georgiann, I’m being bossed around by a bunch of Art Gowns.
Well, they are my girls, so I love them. AND I adore you! How fabulous & generous you are to have made these cards for me. Thank you x all the cats and flowers in the world!
Aquileana from ⚡️ La Audacia de Aquiles ⚡️ has taken all of the symbols from my last Art Gown – Athena ⭐️ Graffiti Goddess ⭐️ – and put them into a relatable mystic perspective.
Aquileana places the symbol beside the Tarot Card it references, which aids enormously in understanding the interpretation. Here is one example.
Other symbols and meanings are presented equally.
Athena, Goddess of Knowledge seems to me to be much like Aquileana in many ways. It is within knowledge and sharing of it, beauty, appreciation of the arts and crafts, essentially urbanized and civilized and a feminine figure of wisdom that I speak of.
Many thank you’s to Aquileana for this fabulous collaboration, from me, and it appears that Leo’s and Scorpios can see a lot between them.
It began with the fact that my new Art Gown will take at least 6 – 8 more weeks to complete. I wanted to post sooner.
Aquileana said I could use her as a muse to sketch the Goddess Art Gowns we had done colab posts on. Thinking I’d only get to do 1, she chose Artemis. It was so much fun, I painted the sketch. To read or learn about Goddess Artemis, and to view all of the creative collaboration, which includes a poem by Oloriel, see Aquileana’s post- “Artemis´ Dual Archetype”
Above is Art Gown, Artemis. To view the post “Artemis by Moonlight”, click on it!
It was so satisfying doing Artemis, that I segued into Mnemosyne.
It was fabulously fab to revisit my early fashion sketching abilities. Yes, I have a lot to remember & catch up on!
To read or learn about Mnemosyne, and to view all of the creative collaboration, which includes poetry by Christy Birmingham, see Aquileana’s post-“Mnemosyne”
Above is Art Gown Mnemosyne. To view the complete post, click on the above pic.
Art Gowns Artemis & Mnemosyne designed & handmade by Resa McConaghy
Did you ever think to yourself, I’d like to meet an Art Gown fairy?
She would look like the sun shining on rippling pink water and her tail would be made from the forest’s leaves.
Her wings would fold behind her, in many wonderful different ways.
Well, you’ve come to the right place. We make fairies here. This may be the first fairy, but it will not be the last.
And who better to dedicate the first fairy Art Gown to than Brenda Davis Harsham from Friendly Fairy Tales.
Okay, a few notes on the making of La Esencia de Titania
It began with leftovers from “O Royal Treasure”. As I was cutting the circles out of white voile to make her flowers, I noticed the long scraps were fairy airy and romantic feeling.
Using up old things is very Art Gowns apropos.
Shimmering pink stretch cut velvet was draped on Judy, with the white voile scriffles. It was too, pale.
Using metallic bronze and copper acrylic paint with fabric medium, the scraps were painted. A ladder was used for hang drying the pieces.
The result is what I call autumn leaves. After I draped the leaves around the gown, I brought my cat, Jeep, in for consultation
Once she was made, it was a lot of fun folding her wings in different ways.
Of course spreading them for flight was very important, as well!
OUTTAKES
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
La Esencia de Titania heads to the dining room to plan a dinner party for the Art Gowns.
Apparently, the Art Gowns want to move to a place with a larger dining room, more the size of a ballroom, so their tails will fit in better.
La Esencia de Titania and Mini-Me discuss changing Mini-Me’s name to “Mini-Muse”.
Art Gown La Esencia de Titania designed by Resa McConaghy – 2017
Brenda Davis Harsham lives in New England. Her site, Friendly Fairy Tales, is for kids of all ages. Her poetry and prose have been published at the places listed in the “Publications” Page on her blog. Fine art prints are available to purchase on Society6 .
Brenda wants to pen a Fairy Tale based on Art Gown La Esencia de Titania sometime in the future! Would love it!
La Esencia de Titania takes off for a special midnight mission.
La Esencia de Titania & Mini- Me (Muse?) dream of running away to Hollywood to become stars in black and white movies.
I found an old sketch in my archives, that I remember fondly. It was done for an interview to design the costumes for A House Divided, a Showtime Feature.
Art Gowns 
You must be logged in to post a comment.