Fairy Paintings

ERWhittington 3 Comments

I was booked recently at Paul’s Studio by an artist wishing to begin a project he’d had in his mind for a while. Philip Malpass will be painting 4-6 large canvasses by sometime next year, from which prints will be made available through a new site devoted to fairy art. Meanwhile he is making a series of minipanels which will eventually be sold via small galleries. I feel very lucky and happy to have been chosen for this project, and think the two panels below (digital files won’t do them justice, I’m told and can well believe, but nevermind) are absolutely stunning! So magical!

Although Philip has been painting all his life, he has had a six year break until recently, so this project is hugely exciting for him and a creative release! We had a lot of fun in the studio, with me interpreting ‘fairyness’ by way of flitting and jumping, perching and skitting about as though flying and journeying between flowers and trees… 🙂 (I love how my job allows me to indulge myself in utter, utter girliness sometimes.)

As they are completed I hope to be able to show more. Phil tells me that painting with oils on such tiny canvasses (5″ by 5″) is a real challenge, but I think they must look so wonderful and special!

Here’s a file to give an idea of two of the minipanels created so far. I can’t wait to see and show more as they are painted! (You can click the image to make it slightly bigger, but remember, the intention is that it’s a small work of art!)

How beautiful!!

On the Plank

ERWhittington 1 Comment

Hello! There is so much going on in my head at the moment here in Edinburgh, where I am curled up in the beanbag room of a backpacker hostel, cup of Earl Grey in hand, listening to the sounds of birds chirrupping (I genuinely don’t know if the sounds are authentic or just a beautiful dream-state soundtrack they play in this room on loop; it’s highly possible there are birds nesting in the enormous window frames. Pretty sure it’s real, actually). Out of the windows are old, old buildings and history, with the castle nearby. I love Edinburgh. I love meeting other models, too, and have enjoyed hanging out with Roswell Ivory and Fredau. Being in the company of people who share a similar lifestyle is such a relief, sometimes. I loved a little less the fact that the rain, upon arrival, immediately got into my boots (both pairs I’d brought along with me to Scotland), requiring me to dry my socks on Barrie Spence’s studio radiator two days in a row, then initiating a disintegration process in one of the pairs that somehow involved the gradual apparition of a pungent red, ironic powder in the sodden sole (non-durable shoes; a sacrifice I make in refusing to purchase leather). So I ended up shopping for ankle boots in a season which, fashion-wise, lays emphasis on flip flops and open-toe ballet pumps. Luckily, I managed to resist buying my chihuahua a kilt from one of the souvenir shops I happened to pass through. It took a lot of restraint.

Anyway, I wasn’t planning to say much in this blog post, so I will be quiet, and show some images recently sent to me by Vanijzen, a photographer I enjoyed working with in Amsterdam. I was given a suspended plank – a table top – and left to my own devices while we listened to some chill-out electronica-ish music. I found the session quite therapeutic.

Hope you like them. I do!

Postcards – an exhibition

ERWhittington 2 Comments

As some of you will know, I am in love with the ‘Zen Habits’ blog, and when writer Leo Babuta featured the quote

~‘Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.’~

at the top of today’s post I couldn’t help but scribble it out and add it to the mounted collection of phrases and art postcards (picked up from galleries/museums) hanging above my desk. One of my all time favourites is ‘Creativity is unexpected connection’ – I think it applies so well, and so surprisingly, which is fitting, to many different areas of life! I also have ‘The big secret is the ability to stay in the room’ above Holbein’s Erasme écrivant.

My board of postcards was originally inspired by a similar one which hangs in the bathroom of a painter I spent a year modelling for, who is exhibiting later this week (9th-26th May) at Messum’s on Cork Street in London.

You can find information about Robbie Wraith‘s show here and browse the artworks which will be on display here. I will definitely be going once I’m back from Scotland to look at some I haven’t seen before – over the course of a year, there amassed quite a few!


It seems a fitting time to reflect on my first ever experience of art modelling when I am, three years later, busier than I’ve ever been, being sent booking enquiries so frequently I can hardly keep up, and so incredibly lucky that I am offered work in different countries across the globe that I am able to travel and see so much. I am so grateful! Upcoming trips include Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Paris, Cornwall/Devon, Stockport and more, plus a possible booking in a part of the world I would perhaps never have the opportunity to visit otherwise (but I won’t mention before it’s confirmed just in case), and from October onwards I am planning some international travel that will take me to some exotic locations, similar to last year (but different places!). I’ve updated the ‘travel’ gadget on the right hand side of this blog, to let anyone interested know about a few forthcoming trips.

Anyway, back on topic, I really fell on my feet with this first foray into posing – Robbie’s talent is extraordinary and the whole experience influenced my first novel hugely. At age 16 he was invited to study in Florence under Pietro Annigoni; since then he’s painted the Queen, Nelson Mandela and accompanied Prince Charles around Africa as travelling artist, and had works displayed in the Vatican amongst other places.

Here are some things we did, available to see at the show in London (click on the images to enlarge them):

Profile
Oil on panel
40.6 x 31 cm (16 x 12 1⁄4 in)
(I absolutely love this painting; as well as being brilliant, hey, why not just paint 29 other famous paintings from history??! Might as well… And the postcards are so cleverly positioned!)

Portrait Study I
Red chalk
30.5 x 23 cm (12 x 9 in)

Yvonne
Pencil
25.4 x 20 cm (10 x 7 7⁄8 in)

Study, Black Veil
Charcoal
45.7 x 33 cm (18 x 13 in)

Figure Study V
Charcoal
25.4 x 46 cm (10 x 18 1⁄8 in)

Blank Canvas I
Watercolour
30.5 x 41 cm (12 x 16 1⁄8 in)

Contraluce
Watercolour
30.5 x 40.6 cm (12 x 16 in)

 

… And here are a few more of my favourite paintings by Robbie Wraith, also to be found at Messums… 

Alexandra
Oil on panel
30.5 x 17.8 cm (12 x 7 in)
(An amazing portrait of a friend of mine; Hello Alex!!)

Artist & Model
Oil on panel
18 x 30.5 cm (7 1⁄8 x 12 in)

Bougainvillea, Rajasthan
Oil on panel
14 x 20.3 cm (5 1⁄2 x 8 in)

Hanging by a Thread
Watercolour
30.5 x 40.6 cm (12 x 16 in)

 Mr. Wraith’s Footsteps
Oil on panel
22.9 x 31 cm (9 x 12 1⁄4 in)

Lungarno Corsini, Florence
Oil on panel
22.9 x 31 cm (9 x 12 1⁄4 in)

Palazzo Corsini Gardens
Oil on panel
20.3 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in)

Leica, Bird on a Wire
Oil on panel
20.3 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in)

Puppet Shop, Rajasthan
Watercolour
21.6 x 30.5 cm (8 1⁄2 x 12 in)

The Frome below Wareham, Dorset I
Watercolour
21.6 x 31 cm (8 1⁄2 x 12 1⁄4 in)

Twenty-Seven Afternoons
Oil on canvas
76.2 x 122 cm (30 x 48 in)
(This painting formed the majority of the view during much of my own modelling; I love the position of the wrist.)


If you like what you see, drop by the exhibition sometime!

Portraits, Box, Stripes and Lightning

ERWhittington 5 Comments
Tonight, a massive medley from the marvellous Eric Kellerman!
First, a test shot in (well, mostly out of by then) Eric’s robe, plus some portraity things: 

The infamous box – an honour to step in this small, equilateral theatre.

A beautiful bodyscape that seems to have slipped through the net of my previous post ‘Strength in the Dark’. Hip bone glory:

Then some joyful striping around. I love this effect – so amazing, especially when in the mix with some curly stray locks lolling around in front of flesh and playing shadow games.

(I think I manage to look a bit ‘eighties’, skeptical and sulky all at once in a few of those stripy portraits above. Brilliant!)

Thanks Eric! …And as always, if any of you readers have particular favourites, etc., do let me know! I always love to hear from you.
…So yeah, I know it’s totally inappropriate, but something about the stripes (and the fact that this particular fancy dress theme came up in conversation this evening when out with some friends) is making me want to leave you with some images from 2007 taken on a university pub crawl… We were the coolest kids in Nottingham that night, let me tell you. (There were seven of us and our feet were tied together for the majority of the night. Tricky manoeuvres all round.)

Hello Bowie friends, if any of you are reading this!

Paris by day ~ Travelogue!

ERWhittington 2 Comments

As promised in this Paris-by night post, the day-time evidence of recent Parisian frolics (with photographer J H) is here!

We went for a black-and-white colour scheme with a fashion travelogue feel; some posed scenes incorporating some recognisable sights plus some obligatory casual cafe breaks… Although a little cold at times (here’s hoping the June visit will be a little warmer!), we had a lot of fun wandering around and getting through our book of metro tickets, then setting me up to pose in front of such picturesque and famous skylines! I basically wandered around in an ‘I love Paris’ daze, I think, and enjoyed the sophisticated-to-playful outfits (I think it would have been a crime not to make the most of the merry-go-round when modelling in a short playsuit!).

Quai de la Tournelle:

Ile de la Cite et Ile Saint-Louis:

Le Jardin des Tuileries:

Some funky disco:

Trocadero:

And finally, the hotel rooms and my room’s balcony:

 

… Thanks again to J for such a fun and productive trip! 🙂

UK art models I admire

ERWhittington 3 Comments

I’m sometimes asked by photographers I work with whether there are any other UK-based female art models I can recommend for them to consider. I can usually rattle off three or four I like a lot, depending on the brief, but thought it might be nice to feature some here.

In no particular order, these get my recommendation in terms of personality/spirit as well as visual inspiration!

1. Kayleigh Lush. Kayleigh is tall, slender and a skilled and talented dancer who I’ve had the pleasure of working with twice so far. She has bags of energy and a friendly personality, and can produce killer flexible poses – lots of fun to work with!

(photo credit: Klaus Kampert)

2. Leah Axl. Leah just has a perfect face. She is a petite brunette with a look about her that covers so many fleeting emotions and periods of time. If I were a photograher I would definitely want to shoot her. My opinion of her is only cemented by her super-niceness.

(photo credit: Karen Jones)

3.Cheryl Elizabeth. I haven’t actually met Cheryl (only spoken on the phone), though I hope to, but really rate her as a model and am in awe of her figure half the time. I sometimes think she’s a bit underrated and not as ‘well known’ as she should be. Long legged and a really beautiful, interesting face, I reckon:

(image credit: J H)

4. Vicki Marie is another model I always mention when asked for recommendations for dancers. She’s a professional dancer, very flexible and pretty, but what I remember most about meeting her a couple of years ago was how professional-yet-friendly she was. She’s a lot of fun to have around.

(image credit: James Tate)
5. Muse (apparently her birth name!) is another model I haven’t met, but was on the scene back when I began and someone I find very impressive. She is just incredibly beautiful, basically, very sensual, and the creative concepts she and her teams come up with are so stunning, from the pretty/’maiden’ beauty to the primal.
(image credit: David Charles)

6. Ivory Flame is a petite, classic red-head, with pale skin and a gentle (but fiery!) demeanour, as well as a good friend. I’ve had the pleasure of modelling alongside (as well as for) her many times and we make an excellent match in mood and aesthetic. Pictures of her are often the most interesting and successful in a photographer’s portfolio –  they always seem to stand out. It’s extremely unlikely you haven’t heard of her as she was a successful model way before I appeared on the scene (her profile was one I found particularly inspiring when I began), but it would be weird to miss her off this list!!

 (image credit: Alex Ingram)

…. This is just a personal list of favourites and I’m sure there are more I could add. Everyone is inspired by and interested in different looks/skills, and that’s what makes the world go around! Have fun checking out their work!

Finally, in case you’re interested, Ivory Flame and I are available for bookings together at any time, but most notably on Friday 25th May, when we are available for bookings together with individual photographers at KVMedia Studios in Chesham (Saturday sold out before we’d even publically advertised it!). 🙂 The theme of the day is ‘Goddesses’ (we hope this doesn’t sound presumptious… it’s just a fun label to steer some creative potential!) Any related concepts can be explored, from softer classic beauty to powerful figures of feminine strength… Mother Earth, Birth of Venus, Egyptian Queens, Pre-raphaelite maidens, fairies, Greek myths, Horoscopes, Hindu deities, and warriors. For more information, just ask!

Swathes of Lavender

ERWhittington 5 Comments

Remember this post (‘Fertile Lands’), SEVEN months ago? Well it turns out that shortly afterwards, the wonderful Imagesse had sent me a whole other batch of images by email which I did not receive properly! If you are a friend of mine on facebook you will be aware of my recent horror at discovering that my smartphone has been displacing the occasional email at whim and deleting it from my inbox. I happened to come across a folder accessible only on my computer (and invisible on my phone) called ‘POP’, where hotmail keeps emails that have been deleted on ‘a device’ and which it wants me to check shouldn’t be kept. Clever hotmail. No fewer than 1174 emails over the last few months ago were found there lurking, unopened. Luckily, most of them were ones I had meant to delete from my phone, or else not important, but more than a very generous handful were very important, or sweet, or offering me highly-exciting work, and a few included images I had (seemingly rudely, I imagine) never seen or acknowledged! And there was me wondering why people hadn’t got back to me on one or two things!! Urgh. That was a stressful evening. Unfortunately I still need to be able to delete emails on my phone as I often make the most of spare minutes when out and about in order to keep the stream as clear as possible, but at least now I know to check my ‘POP’ folder (a bit like a ‘junk’ folder, but for non-junk that your computer doubts you meant to delete) for hidden jewels.

I’m on top of the problem now that I know about my phone’s mischievery, but hey – if someone doesn’t reply to your email, consider this post encouragement that a gentle nudge is sometimes necessary!! Technology, eh? Who’d have it?!

Without further to do, here are some beautiful (I think) images taken in a lavender field in Gloucestershire during summer last year. I think the colour is so eye catching and I haven’t seen (m)any images in this type of location before, so extra points to Perry for finding somewhere special! The flowers were so vibrant and fragrant. Modelling in places like these is so incredibly pleasurable – I’m not sure I would ever have visited a lavender field otherwise – I certainly hadn’t seen one before. Mmmm, lavender honey…. And I’m now remembering for the millionth time that I need to buy myself a new calming lavender rollerball fragrance bottle to take when travelling, since they are so relaxing (and mine ran out/leaked everywhere a few trips ago). Why is lavender so calming? I was having a similar thought recently when driving through countryside… Why do humans tend to find blue and green colours so relaxing (as opposed to, say, red or orange)? Why did God choose those colours to paint the majority of the world in? Did he want us to feel relaxed/peaceful/stop killing each other, etc..? Or do we feel relaxed because the natural world is blue-y green and we find nature relaxing? And then I thought I’m thinking an absolute load of nonsense, as really an object’s colour is only a secondary (not primary/essential) quality (as said philosopher John Locke), not independently objective… i.e. the colours of a lump of matter depends on the perceiver and context, like weight (where mass is fundamentally part of an object’s character) …but then maybe if we were designed to see something a certain way then the fact that we do is all that matters… Hhmmm. I’m awesome on car journeys… If I were the sort of person to write ‘dot com’ after words to emphasise my feelings, I would probably write ‘I miss studying at university dot com’.