Search Results for: Beauty

Beauty

Posted on by Thor

The Daily Mail ran this inane headline: “Unattractive people are more likely to keep wearing masks in the post-COVID era study suggests.” The study was published in Frontiers in Psychology. The study theorized that narcissists who consider themselves attractive are less likely to wear a mask because the mask makes it more difficult for them to make a good impression to others. The study was based on 244 people interviewing for jobs. It was discovered that narcissist felt they would appear less attractive. The best way they felt to get a job was to spread the virus. The study did not account for politics of the participants.

I have found quite the opposite to be true. Beautiful people are more likely to wear masks because they care about others. The selfish and narcissistic are the ones who care about no one but themselves. That level of mask less ugliness is impossible to cover with make up.

Another study done more than a year ago at Cardiff University, found that masks make people appear more attractive since they focus attention on the eyes. The first part of the research was carried out in February 2021 by which time the much of the population had become used to wearing masks. Forty-three women were asked to rate on a scale of one to 10 the attractiveness of men with and without a mask. Masked men were found to be more attractive.

The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to recommend the use of masks given the current spread of the COVID-19 globally. Masks should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress transmission and save lives.

Beautiful people continue to wear masks.

Beauty and the Beast: Poster Evolution

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Beauty and the Beast opened at the Orlando Shakes on June 23, 2022. This show isn’t based on the Disney version of the fairy tale but on the original book. In this tale the relationship between the sisters becomes as important as the relationship between the Beast and Beauty.

Written by local play write and actor Brandon Roberts, this show is an interactive joy for the kids in the audience as well as for the kids at heart. The play runs through July 24, 2022.

The first poster design I did for the show was build around showing the rose that is symbolic of the curse of the beast. However this rose is only hinted at in this theater production and I am told it is more of a Disney thematic invention. That idea had to be scrapped.

A second pass at the poster involved showing a mysterious castle in an enchanted forest. In the play, children are invited onto the stage an given fairy wings. As promoted fairies they have control over the inner workings of the castle. Unfortunately the audience members seldom know how to work their magic. It creates charming and delightful moments.

So the second poster idea had a fairy flying through the forest with plenty of pixie dust illuminating the scene. I knew it was a long shot, and it didn’t fly. I liked the blue lighting and yellow illuminated title, but bottom line, I had to figure out how to show Beauty and the Beast in a way that was unique to this production. I watched last year’s production  to get a feel of what I should do for the poster and I can say, you are guaranteed to laugh when you go to this show. The author of the play is one of Rolando’s funniest actors and this production highlights that strength splendidly.

After seeing these two posters I was given photos of past productions and therefor I had an idea of what beauty and the beast looked like in the production. That   mad my job a whole lot easier. I had specifically avoided sketching the beast since his appearance could vary widely. There was a request for some more swirly title treatment, so I had fun getting lost in researching fairy tale style typefaces.

My castle research turned to interiors and the concept developed of showing the beast as a dark silhouette against a light background column of light and beauty would appear a a bright color against the castles darkness. I used the actors from the previous production but they were not re- cast. So I had a last minute request to replace the beauty I had painted with the new actresses. I also did horizontal compositions of each of the posters since most social media use is rather horizontal. This involved giving the art department the ability to isolate sections of each poster and to allow them to create horizontal versions.

Beauty and the Beast at the Garden Theater

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Beauty and the Beast with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton is at the Garden Theater through May 22, 2022.

Trapped in her provincial life, an intelligent young woman risks everything to save her father from a terrifying Beast in an enchanted castle. Belle becomes the heroine of her own story as she discovers the power in daring to be different and breaks free from the expectations of her quiet village. Filled with dancing teapots, gorgeous costumes, and theatre magic, this international best-selling sensation has been re-imagined like never before for the Garden stage.

What I love about this production, which is produced in the Don’t Say Gay and Anti-Woke Bill state, is that the theatre selected a diverse cast, including Belle, a white role in the Disney movie, instead as powerful woman of color. The show also ignored conventional gender roles or identities, as well as infused African design motifs into the elegant costuming. The wardrobe in particular was fabulously dressed and knew how to belt out the tunes. The dusters in the castle wore tight red corseted costumes as they performed their Rockettes style kick dance routines. Chip managed to steal every scene he was in riding around the stage on a small tricycle. I am delighted the the show likely ruffled a few feathers in Winter Garden.

I sketched the show from the nose bleed section shoulder to shoulder with the tech crew. I was quite relived that all the theater staff wore masks and took every COVID precaution including  clear plastic shields in front of the tech equipment. From what I saw in the lobby, the audience was mostly unmasked and the show was close to being sold out. A fog machine demonstrated the movement of aerosol particles through the theater.

Another nice touch is that the Garden Theater will present an American Sign Language-interpreted performance and a Sensory Friendly performance for families that have members (both children and adults) with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and special needs.

Ugly Beauty at the Morse Museum.

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The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, (445 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) hosted a documentary film series at lunch times once every few weeks about Art. This particular screening was about Ugly Beauty. Art critic Waldemar Januszczak argued that beauty is still to be found in modern art. Modern artist Damien Hurst made headlines and tons of money selling a great white shark in a glass case full of formaldehyde to a wealthy stock broker in the 1980’s. This was considered ugly and tasteless by many. Waldemar pointed out that such art depicting death have occurred throughout art history. In the sketch depicted a still life done by Rembrandt of a cow carcass.

Has beauty disappeared from modern art? Several influential modern
thinkers insist that it has. And this belief has inspired them to
publish a clutch of recent books which claim that modern art is no
longer capable of capturing true beauty: that beauty has gone from art.  Art critic Waldemar Januszczak fiercely disagreed, believing that great art is as interested in beauty as ever.

Beauty in modern art often has to do with the sterile and pristine open spaces where the art is exhibited. The museum itself becomes the source of calming reflection instead of the art. The world today needs beauty more than it has ever needed it, and modern art is one of its few suppliers.

Ballerat’s sprawling botanical garden is a beauty mate.

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The last town Terry and I drove to was Ballerat. In Australia it was springtime while back in Orlando it was Winter, not that there is much of a difference. We stopped at the Ballerat Botanical Gardens (Gillies Street North, N Ballarat VIC 3355, Australia) so Terry could enjoy the flowers and birds and I could sketch. I suppose I should have wanted to capture the gorgeous vibrant colored flower beds, but instead, I walked straight into a sculpture pavilion. The pavilion felt like it came from a Victorian era Worlds Fair.

The Pavilion and its statues were unveiled in 1888 by Premier Duncan Gillies, a former colleague of James Russell Thompson
whose bequest to the City enabled the purchase, in Italy, of the
statues. The Flight from Pompeii and the four accompanying statues are
housed in the Statuary Pavilion in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. The
Flight from Pompeii, in the center, was designed by Professor Carlo
Benzoni and carved by Charles Francis Summers while the four
accompanying statues were all designed and carved by Charles Francis
Summers. The octagonal Pavilion was specially designed by T.E. Molloy in
1887 to house the statuary. 

I left out the guard rails since they blocked my view of certain details. Families and couples would come in briefly to view the statues. Parents would explain the sculptures significance to their children. I wondered why the couple only had time to throw towels over their loins as the ran down the streets of Pompeii trying to escape the lava and ash erupting from the volcano. He thought ahead enough to also bring a bed sheet which billowed above them to hopefully stop any red hot rocks from burning their backs. Had they just been in bed, or did they run from a bath house?

One aspect of this scene is that large quarter sized flies would enter the pavilion and they would buzz and pound themselves against the windows trying to escape back out to the vibrant garden. They would start their frantic escape by smacking high against the glass. With each successive blow, they would grow tired and ultimately rest against the windows bottom ledge.  In my head a devised an obvious fly trap that would easily catch every fly allowing them to be removed and released into someone else s garden. How many times would flies stop to rest on the smooth granite semi nude skin of these statues and they couldn’t slap the flies away. As it was, I had to smack a few persistent flies with my sketchbook when the distracted me too much from the sketch. This pavilion was Pompeii for every fly that entered. The were doomed to see the glorious freedom just beyond the glass and die from exhaustion  or the slap of my sketchbook as they struggled to reach it.

Bella: The Beauty of ME Dance

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ME Dance, Inc. is the Newest Professional Dance Organization located in the heart of
Central Florida.
I went to one of the final dress rehearsals for Bella by the Marshall Ellis Dance Company.  Bella is the second series of performances by this dance company. When I arrived, dancers were stretching and Marshall was sweeping the stage and applying what I’m guessing was a liquid wax to the flooring.  One dancer was wearing a white tutu and of course I felt compelled to sketch her. She was the first dancer to perform a solo. A large screen was set up onto which a video of this dancer was projected. She walked through a park and then began writing in her note book about life’s challenges and emotions. Each dance was preceded by one of these video segments in which she wrote about various aspects of life as she grew and matured. The human experience of love is designed for the sole purpose of showing you
who you truly are and it is expressed vibrantly through dance.

After a full run through, Marshall Ellis asked the dancers if they could recite the dance company’s mission statement. It is, “To introduce innovative ideas through
dance to create growth in the arts community. Our goal is to enrich the
arts community by providing an outlet to feature talent in art through
entertainment.”  He felt the first run was technically amazing but he wanted to feel that undefinable spark, the magic and joy of fully expressed emotion through entertainment. It wasn’t just about a smile, but about absolute commitment to artistic expression. With another hour to rehearse, the dancers performed a second time. This time they performed “all out”. A high energy 80’s dance number had all the dancers trying to catch their breath. Marshall has invested so much of himself to make ME Dance, the premiere dance company in Central Florida. That takes plenty of blood sweat and tears. As I left around 11PM, the dancers were still hard at work. Art isn’t easy.

Show Times:

November 23, 2012 – 8pm

November 24, 2012 – 8pm

November 25, 2012 – 7:30pm

Ticket Prices:
$20 General Admission 

Venue:
John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, The Mandell Theatre
Orlando Shakespeare Theater 812 E. Rollins St. Orlando, FL 32803

Beauty

Posted on by Thor

The Premiere Orlando International Beauty Event was a huge event held at the Orange County Convention Center. Sultana gave me a thick book which showcased all the vendors and offered a fold out floor plan that showed the locations of the hundreds of vendors. Just walking the showroom floor offered constant visual stimulation. Every vendor was doing whatever they could to get viewers attention. I finally realized that I just needed to sit front and center at any booth and I could sketch the many models who were there. These two models sporting Alice in Wonderland outfits stayed fairly still. Once a photographer stepped in however they would vogue and pose looking down at the photographer with a highbrow disdain. I liked that the mad hatter had on a shoulder harness made from spools of thread. That was a nice creative touch.
Next to the models, a hair stylist was busy cutting and styling another models hair. I had just blocked in the sketch when the hair stylist told the models that they could take a lunch break. I calmly closed my sketchbook and then got up to sketch somewhere else on the showroom floor. Several hours later when the sketch was finished, I returned to the Salon Tech Booth and the same two models were back at work. I sat front and center and got back to work. Lee Ann McCall a national sales manager for Salon Tech came over to see what I was working on. She seemed sincerely surprised and delighted by the sketch.
Unfortunately, a cough I had caught flying out of NYC started to take hold in my chest. I had a press pass that would have allowed me to return to the event for several more days. The sketching opportunities were limitless, but the next day I was flat on my back in bed for much needed rest and relaxation.

Premiere Orlando International Beauty Event

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Sultana Ali who was working at the information booth at this event was kind enough to get me a press pass so I could wander the Convention Center at will. She showed me around the show floor pointing out various sketch opportunities. I shouted out, “Everyone here is a model. how can I go wrong!” After she went back to work, I settled in and started sketching.

The first booth I stopped at was Farouk Systems. The product they seemed to be showcasing was a special hair spray. The two hair stylists circled a model seated in a barbers chair. They both kept spraying the models hair until he was lost in the mist filled cloud they had created. They both teased and snipped the hair while talking incessantly. It seems this product is targeted for a Hispanic market. Between hair cuts, the stylists would shout out to the crowd, “Who wants some free stuff!?” “I can’t hear you!”

The models hair was multi-colored. The stylist demonstrated how to cut a perfectly straight edge between hair colors. Fashion models would strut up and down the runway and cameras would start flashing.

The convention floor was packed. Who knew that so many people would want to attend a conference devoted to beauty products? This sketch was a real challenge since there was a nonstop flow of humanity between me and the booth I was trying to draw. When I finished this drawing I felt I was capable of drawing anything. Drawing the stylists proved a challenge since they moved with amazing speed. His hands moved so fast they would show up on film as blurs. At the front of the stage there was a huge assortment of lotions, creams and sprays. They all seemed to sport the same orange label.

I continued to walk the show floor but I am sure I only saw a fraction of the vendors. Events like this are for me exhausting since I am always changing direction to avoid people who stop in the isles. It is like running an obstacle course all day long.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Epcot

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This is another sketch exploring the theme parks on the weekends. At this point I seldom looked up from the drawings on my animation desk. I was deep into the rough pass of the animation on my final project.

Interns animated all day and well into the night. Several slept under their desks. Being a bit older, I needed my beauty rest, so I went home early, about 11pm. Every other intern worked through the night. I decided this was a marathon, not a sprint, so I paced myself.

I met with Frank Gladstone, the training manager for a progress report. Frank reminded me of Jerry Lewis. He was always supportive and kept me on track, even if I had no clue what I was doing. Well the goal was to fake until you make it.

Orlando Fringe: Eleanore’s Story, Life After the War

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Ingrid Garner is such a dynamic force as a story teller. Actually she is more than a storyteller, she is a cast of thousands.

Eleanore’s Story: Life After the War follows a show I got to experience and sketch back in 2018. In that show we followed the life of an American family who were stuck in Germany as World War II broke out because one member could not return to America.

In this sequel we got to feel the relief as the family prepared to get out of the largely leveled Berlin which had been carpet bombed into oblivion. Somehow every member of the family had survived.

However the United States would not pay for Eleanore’s mom to return. The family agonized but her mom insisted they go and she would find a way out later.

The steamer trunk was packed and the family left with mom still in Berlin. The view of the statue of Liberty brought tears to the eyes of every one. Americans were so different that the Germans they left behind. They were well fed and moved with drive an purpose.

In the American high school the bell announcing the change of classes reminded the young girl of bomb warning sirens. Flashbacks happened in quick succession. I might have drawn Ingrid in a quiet moment as she face the audience but se was in constant motion, reenacting every horror and joy.  A kiss from an American boy brought back a memory of Soviet soldiers kicking in the front door and making themselves at home. Every woman knew what would happen. Eleanore tried to avoid the possibility by looking sickly. Her mother on the other hand, took pride in her beauty. When the inevitable moment came her mother shouted that they were all Americans. Amazingly the threat of raping American allies, diffused the situation.

The show is based on a published memoir by her grandmother. I really want to read it now to learn more.