Inspiration #5

Sir Frank Dicksee
(1853-1928)
Sir Frank Dicksee is one of my favourite artists. He was a painter and an illustrator in late Victorian England, and has been associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Even though he was not part of the brotherhood, his paintings share some characteristics of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings: intense and rich colors, complex composition and details, and like many of the Pre-Raphaelite painters, he recreated scenes from history, legends and literature in his painting. He also painted many stunning portraits of huntingly beautifull and fashionable women, women who are both sensual and angelic at the same time. He has also illustrated editions of Longfellow's Evangeline, Shakespeare's Othello and Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. I love the movement and fluidity of his painting, the passion and the emotions. Every little piece tells a story, and you can find new details to the story every time you take a look. My favorite is La Belle Dame Sans Merci, a capture of a ballad by the ever so lovely John Keats, which also have been captured by several other artists (like John William Waterhouse and Frank Cadogan Cowper). Other pieces I love more than others are The Foolish Virgins, Startled, Chivalry, Paolo and Francesca, Two Crowns, Miranda, Oriental Pastime and A Portrait of a Lady. The light, details and colors are stunning!

Paintings from top to bottom:
1. Dawn (1897). 2. The Magic Crystal (1894). 3. Cleopatra. 4. Romeo & Juliet. 5. The Foolish Virgins (1883). 6. Startled (1892). 7. Portrait of Dora. 8. The End of the Quest (1921). 9. Portrait of the Artist's Niece, Dorothy (1917). 10. Camille, Daughter of Sutton Palmer (1914). 11. The Emblem. 12. Romeo & Juliet (1876). 13. Spring Maiden (1884). 14. Chivalry (1885). 15. Elsa (1927). 16. The Symbol (1881). 17. Mother (1907). 18. Two Crowns (1900). 19. Portrait of a Lady. 20. Miranda (1878). 21. Unknown. 22. Oriental Pastime. 23. The Mirror (1896). 24. The Duet. 25. Passion/Leila (1892). 26. La Belle Dame Sans Merci (1902). 27. An Offering (1898). 28. Crisis (1891). 29. Confession (1896). 30. Paolo and Francesca (1894)

(pictures from Art Renewal Center, ArtMagic and Illusions Gallery)

TV Costumes

Upstairs Downstairs
(2010)
Costume designer: Amy Roberts
I don't know if any of you have seen this series, but I can highly recommend it (especially if you liked Downton Abbey). Preceded by the five seasoned series from the 70s about the large Edwardian townhouse in 165 Eaton Place and the family and servants that lived there from 1903 - 1930, this series starts in 1936, when a young couple buys the old house and hires new (and old) staff. The purpose of this post is to show you the wonderfull costumes of the series. It was designed by Amy Roberts, a designer that I am not very acquainted with (beside seeing her costumes in the tv mini-series The Virgin Queen and the 2009 version of Wuthering Heights). It seems like period design is her forté, and here we have the 30s fashion in perfection: long siluets with slinky evening dresses, expencive material like satin, fur and chiffon. We even get to see horrible (but still beautifully aesthetic) fascist uniforms. I love the constrast between the "upstairs" and "downstairs", and the more exotic and eccentric look of Lady Maud Holland. I would also recommend you to take a closer look at the beautiful set decoration by Julia Castle.
(I will post some stills in another entry)

Butterfly garden

In our garden there is a little butterfly family living by all the yellow flowers. There they live side by side with the bees, fluttering their wings, dancing around eachother day by day, living their lives like it should have been lived by all other beings, with not a single care in their little worlds.