Spring Concept Shoot

This is the last of a series of four based on the seasons, Spring! Our lovely model Michelle Tate made this look effortless with her flaming red hair and porcelain skin. Casey of Greyline Photography used some new techniques that she learned at the After Dark conference. Here you can see the series together:

Top left: Winter, Top right: Spring, Bottom left: Fall, Bottom right: Summer

I started by airbrushing Michelle's skin with my Belletto airbrush system. I then defined her brows with Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil. I used several different shades of green eyeshadow to get this look. I used a couple from my Sleek Palettes until I got the right look. I added Makeup Forever diamond powder on top for shimmer. In order to make her eyes look bigger, I added lashes on top and bottom. But the bottom lashes I placed lower than her actual eye and filled the gap with white cream from my Makeup Forever Flash palette and set it with white eyeshadow. I used Illamasque cream blush and the lip was achieved by using the coral color from the flash palette.

Michelle's fresh face on the left, a close up of the shadow and lashes on the right.

Sleek makeup palettes

Work in progress

Here a close up of the final result:

A close up of the final result of Spring

And the full shot:

As you might be able to tell, this was inspired by Shakespeare's Ophelia

Some other things to note, the flower hair piece was made by Jules Designs event florals. The dress is by BonnerBell, a local designer. Support your local artists!

Here is a shot from the same shoot with different hair, dress and a darker lip:

Concept Shoot: Winter

The winter/ice/snow queen.

One down and one more to go. So far Greyline Creative and I have completed Summer, Fall and now Winter. We were inspired by the seasons for these fun photo shoots. Sometimes we like to stretch our creative muscles and do some photos that are more creative, unique and more editorial. This shoot was no exception. For winter we tried to capture the ethereal feeling of a winter snow queen. We decided that pink would be a good accent color because we saw so much blue used for similar shots and we wanted to do something different. I made the pink collar out of coffee filters that I dyed pink. I created a cage and then filled it with the flower-like paper much like a parade float. The twig head piece was made by a local floral designer, Jules Design. The hair was a combination of white spray and a substance called angel hair. I had never used this before and it was wonderful. It was like a mix between spider webs and hair. It created really lovely puffs that mimicked snow.

We had a beautiful model, Morgan, who was very kind to allow us to do whatever we wanted. I covered her well moisturized face in white makeup from the Makeup Forever flash palette and contoured her face with ice blue eyeshadow. I added glitter to her eyelids and used Ben Nye white mascara on her eyelashes. I have her some rosy cheeks with pink powder blush and berry kissed lips with a combination of clear lip gloss and a dap of hot pink eyeshadow in the middle of her upper and lower lips.

Top left: dying the coffee filters, Top right: Morgan before
Bottom: Close up of Morgan becoming the snow queen.

The other seasons in the series.
Left: Fall  Right: Summer

Behind the Scenes of a Concept Shoot

Greyline Creative and I are at it again. This time we are doing some portfolio work. It is a series inspired by the seasons. This particular shoot was all about Summer.

I bought some new Sleek palettes and they were perfect for this shoot. The particular palette that I used is the acid color palette. The colors are very saturated and blend easily. I used a MAC 217 to do the blending. Before I applied the makeup to the model, I practiced on myself. I knew that I wanted to use a pink/orange/yellow color scheme to mimic the feel of summer.

Acid Sleek palette (top) My practice session (bottom)

I started by applying an eyeshadow primer (Urban Decay). I then put down a base of white eye shadow to make the color brighter. I put a thick coat of orange (4th color on top row) all over my eye lid and blended it up into the crease. I then blended light hot pink (3rd color on bottom row) in the outer corner of the eye. I also added the orange and pink under the eye. I then blended the darker pink (1st on top row) even further out in the corner. I also added the bright yellow to the inner corner of the eye and underneath the eye inside. Finally, I added a bit of black in a v-shape to the outer corner of the eye to add dimension. It ended up looking purple instead of black which was nice.

My makeup arsenal

Glitter lip tattoos provide a strong beautiful glitter lip. Feels a bit weird and are not easy to apply.
I used gold on just the bottom lip for the shoot.

You can see the gold bottom lip here and the same eyeshadow treatment as above.

I curled the hair as I usually do, with a wand and stand up pin curls to give it body and wave.

The Shoot

Casey, the photographer, had the idea that she wanted to weave the models hair into a fence to create a romantic, whimsical composition. We knew we wanted flower to be a large part of the image and decided on orange and pink snapdragons, hydrangea and eucalyptus. We got a great deal on flowers from Casey's friend Julie from Jule's Design, an amazing flower designer.

The corset was one that I created for my Seven Deadly Sins fashion show. I'm glad that I was able to use it again.

The set up against a fence with flowers weaved around the model.

Another view of the shoot.

The Final Shot

Here is the final shot after all of that work. I think it turned out wonderfully. It always helps to have a beautiful model.

You can see the gold bottom lip here.

A close up of the makeup, without the gold lip. You can really see the eyeshadow gradient.

The full shot with the beautiful flowers.

Sketches

Now that the show is over I can share my sketches. They turned out pretty close to the final results. The only one I actually water colored was Gluttony. Also check out some photos from the show by Greyline Creative.

NWA Fashion Week

Seven deadly sins

Just wanted to post a photo of the final results of the project I've been working on since November. A fashion show segment inspired by the seven deadly sins. I'll be posting more photos of each outfit very soon. Thanks to my beautiful models, my helpers Katie and Casey, again to Casey for the photos and finally to my wonderful, patient, supportive husband Brad.

Sneak Peak of My Upcoming Fashion Show

On March 14, I am going to be a part of the NWA Fashionweek Art Amiss Designer Showcase. My particular segment will be a burlesque theme of the seven deadly sins. I'm working very hard right now to create the clothes, hair and makeup. Here is a sneak peek. It's a sketch I drew for Gluttony.

If you would like to buy tickets to the show, they can be purchased here:
http://nwafw.com/collections/event-tickets

My Favorite Movie Inspirations for Fashion and Style

I love movies. I've always thought it would be so much fun to work in the movie industry doing hair and make up. Here is a list of some of my favorite movies that always fill me with inspiration.

Blade Runner: Futuristic movie with a mixture of modern and vintage style.
Daryl Hannah is amazing in this.

Cabaret: As unique and quirky as Liza Minnelli in style and sensibility.

Funny Face: Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire showcase her beauty and style in Paris.
A perfect combination. I remember as a child watching in awe the scene where she comes down
the steps in the red dress with the shawl floating behind her.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: One of my all-time favorite Marylin Monroe movies, also
featuring Jane Russell. Wonderful costumes.
This is where Madonna snagged the material girl video idea.

Meet Me In St. Louis: One of my favorite Judy Garland movies. Clang Clang Clang went the Trolley!

My Fair Lady: This one is for Buffie, my best friend. Eliza Doolittle is an elegant style icon.

Sweet Charity: I love this musical with Shirley MacLaine. Some of the scenes like the one above
were really before their time and pushing the envelope of style.

The Group: Not a musical, a more obscure movie about a group of friends. I would say this
is the precursor to Sex and the City. The hair and fashion is amazing. Candice Bergen is
gorgeous as always.

Valley of the Dolls: A 1960's inspiration of hair and makeup.

White Christmas: Love the singing, dancing and of course the costumes. This movie features
well know actors/singers like Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, & Bing Crosby.
Vera-Ellen is the more unknown, but amazing dancer above.

A Change of Pace

I created the woman on the right in Photoshop by combining different women's "assets" that people find appealing in our culture today. I also created an updated version of "My Little Pony" on the left. These are both comments on the warped way the world sees women and the obsession with the oversexualization of even the most innocent of images, e.g. slutty Disney Halloween costumes.

And whenever I create a digital imagery like this I always feel the need to raise it to a higher level artistically by turning them into a paintings. As a designer I struggle with how to display something that is digital and wonder where things like this fit into the world of art.

Would they be better as paintings or does being digital suffice?

Updated Version of My Little Pony  |  My version of the 2012 ideal woman according to popular culture.

Water for Elephants Inspired Project: The Results

Well, it's finished. I couldn't have done it without the help of Brad, Buffie, & Christy.  It actually turned out to be a very nice day without any issues.  Buffie came over the night before so I could finger wave and pin curl her hair.  Then, we got up bright and early and drove to Christy's house, Always August Farm, where we were greeted by Bourbon, Doe, and Roscoe, Christy's dogs.  We drank mimosas and ate donuts while Brad took photos.  He is a wonderful photographer.  After all the prep work, I think that result was worth the effort.  We were able to recreate the feel of a star performer at the big top in the early 1930's.  Below is a slideshow of the final pictures.  I will be uploading more photos of the process later.  Enjoy!

iphone and ipad users please click here.

Louis Vuitton Madonna

I wanted to share one of the ways that I combine fashion and art.  This is a self-portrait I made that I call Louis Vuitton Madonna.

Louis Vuitton Madonna, Pastel by Ali Williams