Aida ~

*Appointments were for my very senior kitty. It was not The Absolute Worst It Could Be, but not particularly good either :(

Gauguin - "Arearea"

Instead of looking primarily at color, for this art challenge I wanted to look a little more laterally for inspiration. For this piece I mulled a long time on a few ideas presented in the Musée d'Orsay's description:

• "where dream and reality coexist"
• "an enchanted world, full of both harmony and melancholy"
• Joyeusetés, an alternate name meaning 'Joyousness'

After some waffling around about how to approach the piece, I ended up boiling it all down to an overarching feeling of "dreamy".

Dreamy layers (#2/3). Light layering with an ethereal feel -- gauzy & sheer (tunic), silky (pants), and openweave (kimono cardigan). This one looks better in person because it's got all kinds of movement! It's a bit too many layers and too soft overall for me, so if I were to wear it out today I'd drop the cardigan (#3). Chose shades of green in honor of the lush landscape.

Dreamy light (#4/5). I adore wearing all white; it can have an otherworldly feel but can also seem out of place, especially in a casual setting. People definitely look again at all white. More arty layering including an old pair of pants I've got pinned for potential hemming (I think I'll go a little shorter, though) and one of the few pairs of heels remaining in my closet. Not in any way conventionally flattering but still pretty fun. I'd most likely wear it sans pants (#5) or with slim cropped jeans. Opted for a white dress in honor of the woman.

Dreamy style (#6/7). Romantic and joyous. This outfit epitomizes where I'd like my style to be right now: Modern Bohemian, with some romance, a little arty, and a little punk. Opted for light and dark versions of the same dress (I never duplicate items in different colorways, but for this dress I just had to make an exception). Am wearing the light dream version (#6) and feeling fab on a hot day; will wear the dark dream version (#7) in the near future ^^

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Whiteley - "The Balcony 2"

Instead of looking primarily at color, for this art challenge I wanted to look a little more laterally for inspiration. Except with this piece, sorta ^^ On the page Sal linked to about the piece Whiteley's comment on the pigment itself is what really struck me:

'Windsor and Newton Deep Ultramarine oil colour has an obsessive, ecstasy-like effect upon my nervous system quite unlike any other colour.'

From a painting perspective, Ultramarine is my least used blue yet it's in my palette just the same because it's currently my only cool blue. I know maaaaany painters love this pigment but it definitely doesn't grab me the same way! I almost always opt for Cobalt instead; eventually I'd like to replace PV29 (ultramarine) with PB60 (indigo) which is much darker, though I'll probably still have a tube of ultramarine because I use it to pre-mix my preferred gray.

From a fashion perspective, I don't really wear this shade of vivid blue so instead I decided to focus on the colors that give me the same feeling Whiteley describes.

Color 1: Vivid red-orange. I will stop and check ANY item in this color, regardless of style or cut or fabrication, because it is my moooooost favorite. I did a quick count and found that roughly 10% of my wardrobe is this color or slight variation of (!). This color is tops for me regardless of season or trends and I don't expect that to ever change.

Color 2: Pale pink. This is my current trendy color crush. I've bought way too many pink things this season! Quick check clocks this color in at around 6-8% of wardrobe (yeesh, that happened quickly). I don't know if this will pass in time but it's been building for a while now, so it might end up sticking long term along with the orange.

And yet.... Today was too warm to wear either outfit and so I ended up with a deep blue just the same. I guess there's always room in the palette for Ultramarine ;) This deeper, darker shade of blue is more up my alley (it's a bit darker than in my photos) and I was very happy and comfortable in this new dress. I will definitely be wearing the other two outfits on cooler days, though!

I thought this piece would be the toughest of the challenge, but love how all three outfits turned out. Most of all, though, thinking on this specific piece inspired to pull my paints back out after several months not feeling like painting. I think might be the best thing to come from this challenge for me <3

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Angus - "Cass"

Instead of looking primarily at color, for this art challenge I'm going to look more laterally for inspiration. The two main draws for me from this particular piece are space (vastness of the environment against smallness of the lone person) and, on a secondary level, signature (the description of Angus's style as flat/simplified colors, outlined elements, and "drawing with paint").

Fashion-wise it made sense to correlate "space" to "volume". While I was veerrryy tempted to simply go for a literal Maximum Volume Possible take, ultimately I decided that a wearable final outfit was more important ;) This one is still very voluminous, though!

The culottes were a no-brainer as my most voluminous bottoms, plus bonus that the tuxedo stripes echo the vertical elements in the painting. I picked this particular blouse because of the volume, color, the "ink drawn" look, and sleeve shape which echoes all the triangular geometry. Footwear considered only aesthetically, but upon later reflection I was amused that they are probably one of the few pairs I wouldn't wear in the environment depicted in the painting.

I took photos both tucked and untucked, and quite like them both though am actually wearing the untucked version. Tucked is definitely more traditionally flattering but I much prefer actual short tops over tucking these days. And while untucked is probably juuust at the edge of JFE, even with low-contrast flats, I'm really liking the funkier/artier/breezier vibe.

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!