Red Dress series write-up!

It's getting close, East Bay Open Studios starts this weekend!

At my open studios I'll be selling some of the paintings and drawings from my series titled "The Red Dress". The series was inspired by my dress hanging in my bedroom for so long up on the candelabra. I kept looking at it, thinking, it has a story hanging there. I wanted viewers to be intrigued to stop and wonder what occasion it was worn for, who the woman was who wore it and whether it was about to be worn, or had already served its purpose. The series is a group of studies, all done with the intention of exploring ways of conveying this sense of mystery.

My good friend and fashion guru, Nerissa Pacio, is a freelance fashion writer who has this great blog: Nerissa's Notebook with fashion tips and goings on in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nerissa has included a write-up about my series and the open studios in her blog. Check it out: http://nerissasnotebook.com/2010/06/02/red-dress-as-art-at-east-bay-open-studios/

I used the Red Dress project as an opportunity to explore different combinations of drawing and painting mediums, often used together as well as on their own. I played with capturing the light at various times of the day, and settled eventually into evening lighting to heighten the sense of mystery I was going for.

Nerissa asked me, "Why a red dress?" Well, the red dress is iconic. It has a totally different message than the little black dress. Unlike the black dress that every woman has in her closet, not every woman has a little red dress. A woman who wears a red dress is not afraid to be noticed, in fact, the boldness of the color speaks to the personality of the woman in it. She is confident, sexy and alluring, and knows it.

Hollywood has helped to create this image, for sure. The bombshell walking down the street that captures the eye is more often than not in red. So, I think, interest in who might be wearing the red dress is built in from societal expectations and long established fantasies created around the icon. The series just wouldn't have the same appeal if it were the blue dress or the brown dress. Also, visually, red is such a striking color that it gives more opportunity for playing around as an artist.