Golden Gustav Klimt
Today I came across two different items related to the iconic Gustav Klimt. Having been to Vienna, which I love (where I swear his spirit lives on!) one is often caught by surprise when suddenly, looming around any corner, is an Art Deco architectural wonder. Of course it is a modern, bustling city, but it literally sings with music and art. I can’t help but love Klimt; of course I love his lyrical line and sense of the decorative, and gold leaf is always special to me (anything that is glittery works for me!) But also, he was a true lover of women and their sensuality, and he always messed and annoyed the establishment of his day, a character trait I admire. No shrinking violet was Gustav! And he produced some seriously beautiful art.
There is a review in The Wall Street Journal “Forever Between Two Worlds” for an exhibition at the Neue Gallery in New York, in honor of the 150th aniversary of his birth. And at the Getty Museum here in Los Angeles, we have “Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line” which will showcase his drawings. An excerpt:
Discover the beautiful and evocative drawings of Gustav Klimt in this major retrospective, which explores the stylistic evolution of his drawings as well as their centrality to his work. Klimt’s drawings are characterized by an unsurpassed mastery of line, from his earliest days as a student to his maturity as an avant-garde master.
I am lucky enough to be able to see both, as I will soon be in New York (YAY!!) so I will get to absorb some Gustav magic.
Adele Bloch-Bauer, 1907 (Klimt's possible lover!)
Gustave Klimt drawing "Fishblood"
Preparatory drawing for "The Kiss"
Here is a Photo illustration collage I did that includes an image on Klimts very famous “The Kiss”. I no longer sell this image, but maybe I should revisit it! I love being inspired from other artist’s and incorporating them in my work.
Klimt-Collage
Visit my website or etsy store to see what I am up to now!
It’s been long time between posts lately … you know, the holidays and all that. I’ve been enjoying my downtime and reading my iPad, watching movies (loved loved “The Artist”!), filling orders for my stores and generally being lazy! I recently have been perusing the Life Magazine app, which is just beautiful. They have organized their incredible iconic photos into slideshow-based themes and I discovered Françoise Sagan, (under the “romantic-drunken-mad-literary-artist category”) who by all accounts was a hard living, larger than life, precocious artist. Her first, and most famous book, “Bonjour Tristesse” was published when she was 18 years old. She was an eccentric, and I love her for that!
Here she is with some of her more famous quotes:
“To jealousy, nothing is more frightful than laughter.”
When asked if she believed in love: “Are you joking? I believe in passion. Nothing else. Two years, no more. All right, then: three.”
“A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to want to take it off you.”
“I have loved to the point of madness, that which is called madness, that which to me is the only sensible way to love.”
“One can never speak enough of the virtues, the dangers, the power of shared laughter.”
“Art must take reality by surprise.”
I know it appears I am in love with all things French …and I am! Only the French would make the new silent movie “The Artist”, and possess the effortless style of everyday Parisiens, speak the lovely language that I now master fairly well, not to mention the great bread, the butter, and Brigitte Bardot.
She loved fast cars (and leopard coats!) (Life Magazine photo)
Francoise at work (?)
Francoise and friend
Fabulous poster for the movie of her first book
Last weekend I caught “A Place in the Sun” on Turner Movie Classics. Of course, anything with Elizabeth Taylor in her prime is retro glamour heaven, especially when the movie includes her good friend Montgomery Clift (or James Dean.) It seemed a lot more melodramatic and over-acted than I remember- my how movies have changed! Oh well, they were very earnest and worked hard, and it was a good movie in it’s day. However now, it is a Old Hollywood Classic, and I love them all! The gowns by Edith Head were amazing, the black and white chiaroscuro lighting, the lovely and delicate Liz, the handsome Monty. I particularly love the bright pop-art orange and yellow movie poster.. so cool! A little Gone With the Wind-ish, don’t you think? Just more fodder for inspiration! I Love Turner Movie Classics!
Movie Poster for A Place in the Sun
Poster with Text
Edith Head Design, from A Place in the Sun
Edith Head Flower Bodice Dress
I love to watch TV5Monde on cable. If you don’t know it, TV5Monde is France’s TV channel for the US. In my l-o-n-g struggle to learn to speak adequate french, I find I pick up quite a bit from watching old movies, French sit-coms, and even the news. It is quite interesting to see how global the news can (or can not) be, and particularly nice to see what is happening in other parts of the world.
The other day they were showing “Les Trois Glorieuses” with THE most fabulous glamour photos of three beautiful french actresses from the 30′s, 40′s and 50′s. I had heard of none of them, and yet they were as strikingly beautiful as all the other well-known icons from that era, like Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo. I wasn’t able to sit and watch it attentively, so I will re-watch it at another time. They have a extraordinary story and are quite lovely and charming today. Here is a bit about them that I deciphered from a French blog. Don’t you just love them, then and now?
110 films for Danielle Darrieux, 110 films for Micheline Presle, and 70 films for Michèle Morgan. These three actresses began their careers at hardly more than fifteen years of age, and reigned over the French cinema during the thirties to the fifties. Michèle Morgan was known as “de beaux yeux” (the beautiful eyes.) Michele and Micheline even shared the same husband for a time! They all tried their success in Hollywood, but they were never cast in anything other than French roles and were not able to attain worldwide stardom.
I think they are definitely the brightest of stars, and très très glorieuses.
"De Beaux Yeux," Michèle Morgan
Micheline Presle
Les Trois Glorieuses
Danielle Darrieux, Micheline Presle et Michèle Morgan; 2010
I just finished a pop art interpretation of the one and only Audrey Hepburn. It took awhile for me to do a image of her. I think because she is the ultimate in my retro-love obsession. She is so iconic, and so loved by all; the epitome of chic retro style and glamour.
I read a biography of Audrey and if you have the time, I highly recommend reading more about her life. She suffered malnutrition and starvation as pre-teen during WWII, and she was deeply affected by her father’s abandonment of the family. (She found him years later and supported him the rest of her life.) You may know that her first dream was to be a ballet dancer, and I am happy she was often able to find roles that featured her dancing talents. Her actual success as a movie star was a bit accidental, which (I think) adds to her allure. She was truly “discovered.” She never felt very beautiful, she was very unlucky in love, she was a great advocate for children, and from what I have read, a wonderful and devoted mother. No wonder she is still so adored and worshipped!
Here is my art canvas piece of her. It is digitally mixed with a vintage photo and my original paintings. It is only available in my web store
Own it here!
Audrey by trolleyla, 2011
I don’t really know what is quite so appealing to me about retro culture, but I can safely say that Twiggy is one of the best reasons I can name. Perhaps it is the fleeting sense of time, place, and youth that retro culture reminds us of. Perhaps it is the “otherness” from the style of today. Yes, we imitate and mine the past for inspiration, but it was REAL then… not just a source of inspiration. Or, perhaps I love the feeling of nostalgia!
I found this 70′s dress that reminds me of something Twiggy would wear, but not in an obvious way. She was so thin and androngynous that she really rocked feminine and boyish styles. You can purchase it here, in my etsy store…
….and enjoy these images of Twiggy!
I received an email from the Los Angeles County of Art that Roger Vadim’s cult classic “Barbarella” is playing today. It stars Jane Fonda, in the era of her best-ever Brigitte Bardot incarnation. Roger Vadim was married to Brigitte Bardot (before he was married to Jane) so he did a nice job transforming her into a facsimile of the Fabulous BB. The publicity stills from the film made me think of the recent Super Bowl Half-Time show featuring the Black-Eyed Peas. Check out how similar Fergie’s costume is to Jane’s 1967 Barbarella outfit designed by Paco Rabanne!
RETRO RULES!!!!
I was so excited to see it, because I’ve never seen the entire movie, only bits and pieces. Alas, my honey has planned a wonderful pre-valentine theater event at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, California, of the Neil LaBute play “The Break of Noon” which I am very excited about! I can always rent “Barbarella.”
I had to share with you the original theatrical trailer…it’s SO hilarious! Enjoy!
Jane Fonda in 'Barbarella.'
Fergie
As usual, the Christmas season is SO busy. I don’t have to list the reasons, you know all of them! I am very thankful to all of you who purchased something from my art store or my vintage clothing store; I was ecstatic to have a pretty good holiday season. One thing that is very upsetting to me, however, is the fact that I don’t have the most PERFECT, AWESOMEST,UGLIEST, Christmas sweater! So, in the spirit of UGLY Christmas sweaters, I show you a mere few…
I searched on Google to see if vintage Christmas sweaters were more attractive, and I found this one. Believe it or not you were SUPPOSED to knit this! That just blows me away. The fact that this was a pattern for a handknit sweater just validates my adoration for vintage. I guess we had much more time then, and cheap stuff from China wasn’t a huge deterent for making handmade sweaters! 
I loved catching numerous images of French icons in the streets when I was in Paris. Whenever I saw Brigitte Bardot, I noticed she was always more captivating than the thing they were trying to sell. For quite a long time now, she has devoted her life to animal rights…how worthy and inspiring. A quote:
“I gave my beauty and my youth to men. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals.”
Brigitte Bardot
I did a new piece on her; it is now available here, in my etsy store.
Enjoy!
Brigitte Bardot in a Paris window, Montparnasse
Brigitte Bardot by trolleyla, 2010
Ok, this is why I love retro art and style so much. Today my favorite paper, The Wall Street Journal, has an article and slide show entitled “The Bosom is Back”, with the most glamorous 1950s era clothing from today’s top designers. I wouldn’t even call it new, it’s just elegant, retro style in new fabrics (so instead of buying vintage, you are buying “new vintage.” I can see why they have recalled these classy, feminine and luxurious looks…because they are timeless and tasteful!
See the article and slide show here:
The New Belle Curve
Here are some of Louis Vuitton’s retro-vibed dresses from the fall 2010 collection.
The Elegant Bosom
Ladylike and Pure Retro
I Want Gloves
AND THE REAL DEAL!…
The Beautiful Suzy Parker did it For Real
Don’t forget to peruse my etsy store for my retro influenced art pieces, in prints and on canvas…
Sixtie's Glamour
I’m not as 1950′s-specific as this current trend with MY vintage finds, but you will find many items from many eras!
