Here is "Fearless", my latest shadowbox - which really turned into a
labor of love. Since I wanted to put the figure in this kind of dress, I
had to spend a lot of time carving her basswood body - much more than I
would if I was covering her body with clothes.
And I had this idea of placing the figure up on top of the shadowbox for a while, and I really think it turned out well.
The shadowbox is made from scratch, and the ladder and mirror are found objects. I added a little paint to the mirror but left the ladder as I found it - it was perfect as is.
The frame and the interior of the shadowbox were decoupaged with pages from vintage books, then the frame was painted with a wash of metallic gold acrylic paint, and the whole piece was distressed in my usual fashion.
The piece measures 16.5" x 23" x 5.5" and hangs on the wall. The piece is signed and dated. And is sold.
And I had this idea of placing the figure up on top of the shadowbox for a while, and I really think it turned out well.
The shadowbox is made from scratch, and the ladder and mirror are found objects. I added a little paint to the mirror but left the ladder as I found it - it was perfect as is.
The frame and the interior of the shadowbox were decoupaged with pages from vintage books, then the frame was painted with a wash of metallic gold acrylic paint, and the whole piece was distressed in my usual fashion.
The piece measures 16.5" x 23" x 5.5" and hangs on the wall. The piece is signed and dated. And is sold.
With this piece I wanted to stick with a limited color palette, and keep the scene pretty simple.
She appears to look down from her perch. (I thought about calling her "Plucky" or "Moxie", but I had already used those titles on previous pieces.)
I was pretty happy with the way her body came out. It's so much easier to cover my figures up with clothes, but this dress really seemed to be the perfect fit for her. Her clothes were made by me - the lower part of her dress is actually a vintage handkerchief my wife had.
I made her head and face purposely elongated; to go along with her long limbs.
Details of the frame, her leg, hand, and the ladder. I put her in tights so I didn't have to worry about carving her toes, plus it goes with her outfit.
The mirror, slightly distressed.
In-progress pics.....
My drawing for her body. I purposely wanted her arms and legs to be elongated, and stylized/idealized - like a fashion model.
Fitting the figure to the frame - making sure she sat on the top properly. The shadowbox is also in-progress here.
Fitting her arm to her torso. I wanted her hands to be right on the edge of the frame, so I had to do some reverse engineering here.
The figure is finished and ready to be painted. I really had to hide the seams of her neck and arms; usually they are covered with clothing. I made her neck out of wood this time so I could carve it down where needed.
In the middle of my painting process. The two brass pins will hold the figure in place.
Thanks for looking!
tom
Absolutely stunning, as always.
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