My Paper Dolls for the 2014 San Diego Comic Con Art Show - Part 2

Yay! I am happy to say that I finished my final six paper dolls for the 2014 San Diego Comic Con Art Show. To check out my first 6 paper dolls for the art show, please see my previous blog post. I decided to make three more mermaid paper dolls (for a total of nine) as well as three of my Bebe Paper Dolls. 

For those not familiar with my Bebe Paper Doll, the Bebe Doll is my artistic culmination of my love for japanese anime and couture fashion. And I have to tell you I am especially in love with these latest Bebe dolls because they ring true to my fangirl heart!

Below are my final six paper dolls and the inspirations behind their creations for the 2014 San Diego Comic Con Art Show. Enjoy!

BEBE PAPER DOLLS

Bebe Paper Doll #26 - Hello Kitty Couture

My Bebe Paper Doll "Hello Kitty Couture" is most obviously inspired by Sanrio's iconic  red bowed white cat Hello Kitty (above). I was a huge Hello Kitty fan growing up in the 1980s. I had Hello Kitty everything (stuffed dolls, pencils/pens, stickers, coffee mug, etc) and I remember visiting the local Hello Kitty store (which was called "Rainbow's End") quite often!

After finding some cool Hello Kitty craft paper at a store, I thought it would be fun to make a "Hello Kitty" Bebe Paper Doll for the Comic Con Art Show. I treated this creation like I was making a couture dress for an unconventional project challenge on the television reality show "Project Runway" and decided to make a dress entirely out of Hello Kitty bows. And the result, one of my favorite Bebe Dolls thus far!

Bebe Paper Doll #27 - Howl's Sophie

Bebe Paper Doll #27 is based on the heroine Sophie Hatter from Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Howl's Moving Castle". "Howl's Moving Castle" is still my all-time favorite of Miyazaki's animated films. It's a gorgeous movie with an eccentric love story between the wizard Howl and seamstress Sophie (above).

I decided to portray my Bebe Paper Doll as the silver-haired Sophie rather than her earlier brunette self. Her hair changes to silver after she is cursed into an old woman's body (see above) by the Witch of the Waste. I really enjoyed making "Sophie" and putting a lot of subtle details and layers into her whole look, from her wide-brimmed hat to her leather boots with 'H Heart S' branded on to it.

Bebe Paper Doll #28 - Felicity Smoak

Bebe Paper Doll #28 is an ode to Felicity Smoak, one of the main characters from the CW television series "Arrow". Not only am I a huge fan of "Arrow" but I am also a huge 'Olicity' shipper fan for the characters Oliver Queen (a.k.a. Green Arrow) and Felicity (above).

Felicity is quirky, intelligent, and tends to wear bright, fun clothing on the show. And I created my "Felicity" Bebe Paper Doll based on one of her outfits worn during Season 2, Episode 9 called "Three Ghosts" (above).

MERMAID PAPER DOLLS

Mermaid Paper Doll #108 - Tribal Love

I am truly and deeply inspired by the beauty of African fabrics. Mermaid Paper Doll #108 is a tribute to the vibrantly bold colors and daring patterns of African wax block print fabrics and fashion.

Mermaid Paper Doll #109 - Kimono Love

My "Kimono Love" Mermaid Paper Doll is highly inspired by both Japanese kimono fabric and the beautiful woodblock prints of Japanese ladies by artist Hashiguchi Goyo. Like African print fabric, I really love all the rich colors and wonderful patterns found in Japanese kimonos. 

Moreover, I was and still am deeply in love by Hashiguchi Goyo's gorgeous woodblock prints which I first saw at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. back in 1995. The beautiful ladies in their colorful kimonos looked amazing and since then I have never forgotten about the artist Goyo. My favorites of Goyo (above) include: "Woman Applying Make-Up (Hand Mirror), 1918; "Woman Applying Color to Her Lips", 1918; and "Kamisuki" (Woman Combing Her Hair), 1920.

"Kimono Love" mermaid doll and all its color, patterns, and elaborate details (such as Kanzashi hair stick) is a special tribute to Japanese kimonos everywhere and especially to Hashiguchi Goyo.

Mermaid Paper Doll #110 - Steampunk Victoria

Mermaid Paper Doll #110 is the second Steampunk-based mermaid for the art show. I always loved the contrasting blend of nature and machine that is Steampunk. And the whole Steampunk design movement which features a neo-vintage twist on the 19th century industrialized looks and Victorian decorative motifs is quite cool and begs to be reinterpreted via a mermaid paper doll!

I hope you enjoyed my final six! Art show set-up will be on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 and if you were lucky enough to get Con badges this year, come stop by the Art Show located upstairs in the Sails Pavilion and check out my paper dolls! I look forward to sharing pictures of my art exhibit as well as my time at the 2014 International Comic Con in San Diego in a later post.

Thanks for being here!

Envelope Art

There was a time when sending handwritten letters through the mail was the norm. And I still remember (yes, I grew up in an 'email-free' generation) the excitement of waiting for the mailman to arrive and hoping to receive a letter with my name on the envelope! 

And as much as I love receiving a good old-fashioned handwritten letter, nothing beats a letter wrapped in a well-dressed envelope! I was always one who preferred to send my letters in envelopes with a bit of embellishment. Sometimes it would be stickers or maybe drawings and other times gluing something I cut out of a magazine! Using the front and/or back of the envelope as a canvas for art is a way to add a personal and unique touch to the overall letter with more than just words. 

Below are some wonderful examples of various envelope art. It's amazing what amount of detail and love can be made on such a little piece of paper.

Freehand drawing of Bird & Flowers with acrylic ink.

American artist Clayton Lewis sent almost 1,000 beautiful little paintings on the outside of ordinary envelopes to mostly his mother over a span of 5 years. His envelope paintings are absolutely amazing!

Children's Book Publisher Klaus Flügge and his collection of illustrated envelopes from various children's book artists. The envelope art pictured above is by Axel Scheffler, a star in the world of children's books. He has created the artwork for many beloved characters including Julia Donaldson's Gruffalo.

American illustrator and graphic artist Peter Max's drawing on an envelope. I love how his drawing is so simple and modern. 

Girl with a Flashlight...brilliantly fun!

Mail Art is Traveling Love from Mirta Toledo's blog. I love the mermaid drawing just gorgeous!

Joe Linton's envelope artwork to his mom, circa 2005. For this particular piece, he used India ink, watercolor, and stamps on a paper envelope. Linton was inspired by the art of Ben Shahn and a bit of Amedeo Modigliani.

 Beautiful envelope art from Lord Marmalade.

Kim White's fun drawings on an envelope using postage stamps.

Envelope art from Superdilettante titled "Marion Davies dreams of James Stewart".

Below are some of my envelope art sent to Carlos during our college years apart (1992 - 1996). He went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD for college while I stayed in California and attended the University of California, Irvine. We both wrote tons of love letters to each other and many of my letters were sent in envelopes covered with my freehand drawings of fictional women - my favorite drawing subject. Of course he saved all my letters as did I with his letters. Our collection of letters is one of our most treasured possessions.

"Woman who looks better with tattoos on her face" (8" x 10" manila envelope)

"Green Lady" (l) and "Blue Eyeshadow" (r)

"Painted Woman"

"Which catches your eye more - her hair or her breasts?" (l) and "Ruby Girl" (r)

"The Valentine Woman"

"Woman with Duck Earring" (l) and "Woman with Blue Diamond Tattoo" (r) 

The next time you decide to take the time to sit down and hand write a letter to anyone special in your life, try sending it in a personalized envelope made specially for them. Whoever receives it will not only love it to bits but it will be something for that person to cherish and hold on to their whole life.

So get off that computer, grab a pen and paper, get creative, and reacquaint your hand to the old art form of handwriting! Cheers to old school!