Concluding Message

Firstly the Author would like to thank his inspiration, George Barbier and Rene Gruau. He would also like to thank Eve Brannon, Jane Moore and Christopher James Burns for taking part and being interviewed. Finally he would like to thank you, the viewer for taking time to read the blog and learn more about georgesandrene and hopefully appreciate what the author sees in the work, and the work he has produced.

 

All References appear at the bottom of each post as a hyperlink as appropriate for digital media. Copyright information can be found therein. Laurence Fay or georgesandrene claim no ownership to any images that have been sourced through the internet. Laurence Fay obtains all rights to original material published including imagery, text and interviews.

 

un amour pour deux hommes étonnants

a love for two amazing men

Georges and Rene Street Style Illustration: Final

The final image was created in homage to Georges Barbier and Rene Gruau. The original street style photograph chosen as a starting point was chosen for a number of factors: the body language represents that fun charismatic and playful imagery Gruau often worked with, the garments within the image offer an updated Dior style, the bold colours of the garments offered a great visual source for showing the technique of using shadow to create an image as had been documented throughout Gruau’s career. The original image also inspired the use of a soft and detailed background, inspired by the efforts of Barbier to include beautiful detailed drawings of flowers throughout his work. Heavy black outlines have been used to create the face, body, garments and flower outlines. This is intended as connection to both Barbier and Gruau. Through the earlier experimental stages, and the final images inspired by each illustrator individually, the authors overuse of colour and overworking of the idea had damaged in some ways the original intentions. This image was created in the hope that at the final stages it could still represent the light touch of Gruau, and the delicate nature seen in Barbier’s illustrations. In order to clearly reference the influence of street style on this project, the author of this blog and illustrator of this work decided to include a soft representation of a tripod propped against the background wall. That decision was made to encourage the viewer to see situation surrounding the image, or the event as it was taking place. The illustrator wanted to offer a snapshot in time, this influence could be considered the illustrators own style being used, the image appears more interesting offering a story, rather than a beautiful woman and flowers, it can offer an idea, a mystery or a chance for the viewer to see beyond the screen.

Georges and Rene Street Style Illustration

The images above show the construction of the final piece of work. The image began as an idea imagined from a street style photograph of a beautiful woman smiling. The author wanted to see her surrounded by Barbier flowers and afforded a background that matched the fun and lively garments that she was wearing. The author created a series of climbing roses with fine pen, inspired by Barbier’s roses included in his illustrations. This pen drawing was scanned into Photoshop using a watercolour technique, as described in the experimental category on this blog, colour was added to each rose and leaf. Individual layers of colour in pinks and light cerise with overlays of semi-transparent magenta added to a separate layer on Photoshop created the frosted and light look desired from this element of the backdrop. The leaves were created using the same technique, with light green shades and mild mint greens. The original image was then overlaid in a separate Photoshop layer with the opacity level dropped so that image was almost transparent. A new layer was applied and using a fine hard black brush an outline of the clothing, hair, face, shoed, hands and body were created. At this stage it was decided to add the details such as the shadows created by the sunglasses, case in the hands and earrings. Facial features were penned in at this stage to start to form the outline of the image. The original image shows a grey tone jumper which as a street style image is very seductive, however during the process of creating the final Rene Gruau image, one of the most successful aspects was the electric blue of the suit, the author wanted to bring this into this image, and lift the jumper out of the outfit, and away from the soft backdrop. The dress colour was then added, the original image offered a beautiful shade of blue, that was picked using the eyedropper tool on Photoshop, then slightly upped in saturation to choose a stronger colour, as the jumper required it. At this stage shadow and highlight were created by using a soft large brush with low opacity to create soft and undefined areas. The skin tone was added by using the watercolour technique and by adding softer layers on top with a low flow and low opacity setting in similar lighter tones. It was decided while to creating the lips and teeth not to outline the individual pieces, this was in reference to how Gruau often left smaller details be colour blocked alone, without outline, still creating a defined area. The hair was added by creating several layers with differing shades of brown and light gold’s. By using several layers the author was able to create a depth that has helped to give more life to the illustration. The shoe colour and earrings were then added, along with nail polish on the toes. These colours were selected as a complimentary shade to the roses and garments, with small areas of shadowing creating to offer depth. Originally the author had envisaged a sandstone wall as the backdrop, however upon creating a wall using watercolours the author felt it would be better to replicate the colours offered rather than a literal stone wall. Shadow was created to offer perspective on the ground and the tripod image was added along with a shadow to help further the depth within the image. Overall the author feels the illustration is successful in achieving the aim of introducing the differing aspects of inspiration, it was important that the image represent not only the advances in technique and understanding of both Georges Barbier and Rene Gruau, but also what has been learned through the discussion of not only their work, but illustration, art and street style and its relevance to practitioners.

Final Illustration Sketchwork

In investigating the original street style image, some sketches were created to get a better feel of the image and the lines and forms that could be created, more in the style of the author than in either Barbier or Gruau. As presented through the interviews, the author wanted to experiment to help create a better work, and try to avoid forcing a predetermined idea.

Rene Gruau Street Style Illustration: Final

The author considers this work a successful representation of what Gruau’s work has introduced to him. There are aspects of the image that could be improved, the lightness of touch perhaps could be overshadowed by the hues used within the image. Loss of original hand drawn blank ink work and the statement created in it may add to the loss of a standard Gruau reproduction. An interesting aspect of this illustration is that there are more than one finished versions, however due to a malfunctioning computer a version has been lost. This element of the practice of creating digital work is a stark reminder that pen and paper may yet win the war, and as suggested through the interviews (available on the research category of the blog) should not be overlooked.

Rene Gruau Street Style Illustration

The final image was created in homage to Rene Gruau, and his infinite influence on the industry. Playing with heavy black outlines the author created an image which offers both the mystery created in Gruau’s images using highlight and shadow, but also the direct nature of elements such as the gloves and shoes. The image chosen to illustrate was decided upon due to the body language and forceful representation of a woman who was going to get what she wanted. To the author this seemed apparent in many of Gruau’s images, the figures often seemed mysterious but undoubtedly in control of the situation. Often surrounded by men or fabric or commercial items, and yet fully aware of where they were. Gruau to the author affords a respect to each of his female illustrations, they are observed and recorded, but never devalued by obvious features or overtly sexualised imagery. If sexualisation appears through the imagery it is through a soft organic brush stroke.

A question of Art: An interview with Christopher James Burns

Throughout the process of examining the work of Barbier and Gruau, many sources referred to both as artists. With many of their works being held by gallery’s and cited as an influence on many different practitioners throughout fashion, art and media. It seemed only appropriate to discuss the issue of illustration as art with a current artist.

Christopher James Burns is an artist, whose work the author admires beyond any other current working artist. His work often represents subject matters the author does not understand and often leaves the author questioning his ability to appreciate modern art. Above all however, the skilful use of colour and determined thinking shown through the work gives the author a thirst for more.

Christopher James Burns

http://www.cjburns.viewbook.com

Bio

Born in Belfast in 1988, Christopher James Burns is an emerging artist who works predominantly in sculpture and video. Having graduated from the School of Art at the University of Ulster with First Class BA Hons in Fine & Applied Art in 2010 he went on to be a founding member of White Sea Studios in Belfast.

This month his work features in PRESENTLY – a major show of Northern Irish contemporary art curated by Feargal O’Malley at the Millennium Court in Portadown and later in February 2014 in a four person show at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast curated by prominent curator Dickon Hall.

Q. Your work to me pushes the boundaries of materials and expands perceptions of what ‘art’ can be. Do you think Illustration or fashion illustration have the same ability?

CJB: It’s in no way a new idea to use everyday objects and present them in the context of contemporary art, Duchamp famously presented his Fountain in 1917. I try though to use the object without divorcing it from its original understanding, to build on the history and emotion imbued already within it. Often my materials are in themselves already discarded and seemingly dismissed so I hope this backdrop initially will allow a revelation to take place. To not only create juxtapositions that create new meaning but to expose the smallest fragment of human experience and exalt it, magnifying it’s intimacy and honesty. My choice of when even using video – to shoot on old 8mm film is a continuation of this ambition, celebrating the not quite perfect quality of real film. It allows me to interact with the making of images in a manner that’s not disjointed from my sculptures and collages, the film becomes an object too.

I suppose in someways it is in part the rejection of the homogeneous, a seemingly unavoidable result of globalisation and the birth of the digital age. I think illustration and fashion illustration both have the ability to do this in terms of expanding their field, of presenting the viewer with something they may not expect or are familiar with – but up to that point have overlooked. If we think of the illustrator Oliver Jeffers who has had extraordinary success over the last few years, and yet his work was in many ways a return to the roots of his art-form. I saw him give a lecture just after The Incredible Book Eating Boy was published and he described how he had insisted even the title for the book and cover text be illustrated, a request he later regretted when his book continued to be published in every major language and each time he had to return to the drawing board. I think though it was this attention to detail, this celebration of complete illustration that gives his work an edge. So perhaps the expanding of perceptions in these fields – is a return to the hand in a world initially overcome by the photograph and now blinded by digital. I think this is a trend in many creative fields at the moment – interiors, graphics, the recent resurgence of craft. Paradoxically returning to the roots of many of these disciplines is enough to redefine to their audiences what they can be.

Q. How much of a role does illustration play in your work? Do you begin each work with sketches, if so what materials do you use?

CJB: With smaller works I often work directly with the objects and materials in creating the work. Sometimes sketching out an idea first means the later making of the sculpture is simply illustration in itself and so the works looses potency for me because I’ve already through the drawing cemented what I visualised. I will though use drawing in the expanded sense through many of these works, mark making onto the surfaces of objects or attaching pieces to boards I’ve already used chalk, charcoal or paint upon. When creating larger works though I’ll often make sketches first, there is still so much to discover when making the physical piece that the drawing for me does not detract as it might for a smaller work. Instead the sketching allows me to play with composition and try out certain arrangements that would be hard to achieve in reality without screwing, drilling and glueing components together. I use pen and ink for these drawings and for most sketching I would do. I like the permanence of using pen, you have to make every mark work even if it wasn’t intentional. Pencil just doesn’t offer that really with the ability to erase so easily. I love how just a small paintbrush and a little water can transform and animate a pen sketch if you’ve used a soluble ink too.

Q. In terms of Illustration, how important do you think colour is? Of the two illustrators I am studying, Georges Barbier has been stated as influenced by Aubrey Beardsley, who worked with black and white. Do you think an image has as much power without colour?

CJB: Colour is of course transformative and powerful but that’s not to say its crucial to illustration. The basis of all use of colour is black and white is it not? It adds tone, it’s the light and the depth. When the visual is reduced to its essentials it’s the reflection or absence of light. Beardsley is known to have been greatly inspired by Japanese woodcuts and this form of fine art printing is essentially a reduction to these base values. The positive and the negative. I’ve used black on a recent series of sculptural pieces because it’s drama is unmatched, it gave a deathly resonance to the work I don’t think I could have achieved with any other colour. I suppose it is weighed with so much meaning for us as a society with ideas of mourning and formality etc.

Q. Both Georges Barbier and Rene Gruau owe a part of their notoriety to work undertaken for commercial titans such as Cartier and Vogue. Both illustrators have been called ‘artists’ by commentators. Do you think such a work can be ‘art’ even if it is advertising a product?

CJB: Well my core belief in terms of what is and isn’t art is that everything is or perhaps ‘can be’ art. I was fortunate to have a great group of art teachers at secondary school and one in particular used to tell us that. He would say the question is not whether or not it is art, it’s whether or not it’s any good. I’ve stayed true to this belief as it makes for much more interesting discussions and who am I to tell someone what they call art is not art? I would much rather say “I respect that you believe this is art and I will agree with you that it is but this is why I think it is a shit piece of art…” For me integrity is key. Has anything truly great ever been created with financial gain as it’s sole incentive? We use the term art in these fields in describing someone creating something that has transcended its initial intention. Barbier and Gruau may have undertaken the work at the request of the fashion houses or publications but it was a love of their craft that inspired them, it is a celebration of their vision and skill that means the images are reproduced and remembered today. Art is that thing that defies it’s intention, it’s greater than the some of its parts.

Q. How can a visual artist present work in a interesting way on social media? Do you think its down to the work being curated online, or do you think its more about whether the work is indeed interesting?

CJB: I’m always a little wary about the use of social media. I have for example very few photographs of my artwork on Facebook as I was told any images you post on a Facebook page you sign over the rights to. The few that do exist belong to the account of my studios and I make the clear distinction between my personal Facebook account and my artworks. I think artists need to be aware of the dangers of trivialising their work quite easily through social media. Of creating an abundance of material that proliferates the viewer. There are some who use social media as a part of the practice and that I think is an interesting spin but is an entirely different than the simple act of sharing material.

Q. If you present work to an audience through a gallery space you have an invited audience plus the viewers who have came to see the show. How do you achieve the same online? Can it offer a more global audience, or do you think that the work is undervalued because if it appears on a Tumblr or Pinterest, it will appear alongside many works in the small space of a screen?

CJB: Well there are dangers as I’ve said above and also in terms of sites like Tumblr to loose ownership, when an image is reblogged without its notes etc. I’m reminded of Magritte’s work though The treachery of Images and it’s text “ceci n’est pas une pipe” because after all what we are looking at through images online is not the artwork but images of the artwork. This is an important distinction, harder to forget in terms of sculpture but quite subtle perhaps when it comes to images -photography and painting. Nothing equals the experience of viewing something in the flesh, the proportions and scale in actuality, it’s physical context within the exhibition; sometimes even the city it is presented within if site specific etc. I think in these terms while the online sphere offers us a glimpse into other places, of other other things it can never replace real experience, true interaction with art.

Q. What advice would you give an illustrator who is used to being experimental, but still focused on a pre-determined end visual. How can they steer away from being too brief led?

CJB: I would say allow your experimentation to become the basis for the finished work, draw from that wealth and allow it to enrich the work. A good brief should always be a framework not prescriptive direction for the final outcome and if possible don’t be afraid to suggest to the client something slightly left of field during the process. You after-all are the creative – Have the confidence to think creatively.

A question of Illustration: An Interview with Jane Moore

Having interviewed Eve Brannon on street style and as Barbier and Gruau are both deceased, the author seen a need to approach a current illustrator and talk to them about their experience, influences and techniques.

Jane Moore is a inexhaustible illustrator successfully working for both private and corporate clients. The element of commercialisation has appeared throughout both Barbier’s and Gruau’s career therefore Jane seemed the perfect illustrator to question.

BIO

Hailing from Belfast and mostly based in London I work as an Illustrator and Storyboard artist within the Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Fashion and Publishing industries. After completing my Foundation course at the University of Ulster I embarked upon a BA (Hons) In Fashion Promotion and Illustration at the University College for the Creative Arts (UCA) in Epsom, Surrey. I have been privileged to have worked with clients such as Barclaycard, The BFI, Douwe Egberts, The National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts.

Jane’s illustration website Ink Odyssey is currently under construction. You can see examples of her Illustration and Storyboarding work here…

http://ajcolomb.com/storyboards-jane-moore

Home

https://www.facebook.com/inkodyssey

Q. Jane, how has fashion illustration and more specifically artists such as Georges Barbier and Rene Gruau influenced your work so far?

Jane: Fashion illustration has and continues to be a major influence on my work as does all areas of Illustration. Having studied Fashion Illustration and also working in fashion editorial after graduating I was able to commission new Fashion Illustrators and also create my own illustrations for editorial content. I’m an avid collector of Illustration books and enjoy the works of many Fashion Illustrators including Georges Barbier and Rene Gruau. I actually created a design for the t-shirt company We Admire based on Barbier’s Sortileges design. The ethos behind the company is to design T-shirt graphics based on subjects you greatly admire. Our styles are similar in that I my artwork can be quite decorative and I like to use muted colours.

Q. Rene Gruau has influenced many designers and illustrators. John Galliano based his 2011 Couture collection for Dior on Gruau’s work, but at a more commercial level, do you think Gruau’s work is still as relevant today as it was during the emmergence of the ‘New Look’ at Dior?

Jane: I think Gruau’s style is very relevant as it’s timeless. His use of bold colour, loose brush strokes and attention to specific detail can be seen in many new illustrators’ work today. I think being able to capture a certain movement and look with your own signature style is key to Fashion Illustration regardless of the decade.

Q. As an illustrator, if you were asked by a client to combine the styles of two different illustrators, how do you think you would managed that and still keep the identity of your own work?

Jane: I actually have been asked to do this by one of main client’s We Admire. I had to create a t-shirt design based on the styles of 2 different artists. I decided to combine Goya and Warhol, re-creating Goya’s Disaster or war No39 using Warhol’s Pop Art style. As I illustrated the design using my own techniques, my identity still shone through. It’s achievable if you take elements of other illustrator’s style but putting your own twist on it.

Q. How do you think within illustration you could pay hommage to another illustrator without getting into an area of copyright infringement?

Jane: Again I just think it’s referencing the key elements of their style, perhaps their use of colour, line etc and combining it with your own techniques.

Q. Do you think the emmergence of digital media has depleted the use of traditional media such as indian ink/pen/charcoal for illustration?

Jane: No not at all. I use more traditional media that digital. Many illustrators including myself would combine both. I like to use pencil, Indian ink, watercolours and gouache then adding textures in Photoshop. I do also create computer generated illustrations, depends on the client’s needs.

Q. What advice would you give a student illustrator on developing their own style?

Jane: I think just constantly drawing and experimenting with different mediums. It is good to take inspiration from other illustrators and to see how they developed certain styles but personal style comes from within you. It’s developed through hours of drawing, painting, making mistakes and accidentally finding new and exciting techniques.

A question of style: An Interview with Eve Brannon

On starting this blog it was important to the author to start a discussion of the work, not only through experimentation of techniques used by the illustrators but also what is street style to the fashion industry and would Gruau and Barbier see it as important if they were working in the industry today. The author decided to ask prolific style hunter Eve Brannon some questions to try and pin point the place of street style within the industry.

Eve Brannon: Fashion Stylist, Editor and Writer
Website: http://www.evebrannonfashionstyling.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EveBrannonFashionStyling

Bio:
Eve is a leading fashion stylist based in Northern Ireland. After studying Textile Art at the University of Ulster, she went on to pursue a career in fashion within the areas of merchandising, retail and design before discovering her passion for styling. Her varied body of styling work includes advertising campaigns, editorial and commercial photo shoots and catwalk shows. Eve also works for various publications, as an editor, feature writer and columnist. Her broad portfolio reflects her ability to meet the needs of a wide variety of clients through creative vision, organisation and versatility.

Eve, thanks for taking time out of your schedule to answer a few questions on the role of street style in contemporary Fashion.

Q. I really wanted to start with asking how you see Street style within Fashion, your view on its Importance and how you think it influences style as perceived in the media.

Eve: ‘Street Style’ has become a household term, which really identifies its significance and pertinence within the fashion industry today. We see more Street Style imagery within look books, magazines, websites and blogs than ever before. For the first time unique and personal styling has taken on an importance and true relevance – no longer do fashion-lovers solely look to high-end designers and the stylists from glossy publications, they take inspiration and knowledge from the abundance of ‘everyday’ styling from everyday people.

Q. Do you ever have clients directing you to street style images for a starting point when you’re advising on looks or on shoots?

Eve: I haven’t had this as a styling direction or instruction as yet, but I don’t think it will be far off in terms of the future of photographic fashion styling. Street Style, especially blogger’s personal fashion and coordination of ‘their look’ is huge and undoubtedly has to be impactful on the industry as a creative tool going forward.

Q. In a commercial fashion sense, have you had any campaigns where the client is specifically trying to create a street style photograph look? As in they are opting for a more viral visual and overall less professionally styled approach when considering their corporate advertising?

Eve: I get this impression most definitely. Again, it has never been formally vocalised to me in such terminology, but a more organic, personal style is being achieved more and more. Less contrived, not as ‘over-styled’, more natural and less artificial in terms of the image’s overtly commercial message (although a commercial message is still very much conveyed in this new aesthetic). The change is subtle and growing, but most certainly present.

Q. You are use to writing and publishing online alongside styling, so how do you manage things like layout? Do you have a particular formula that you use depending on brands?

Eve: Every publication, fashion feature, spread or article is different. Generally I am lead by text or imagery and build around the bones and structure of this element. I am very fortunate in that my clients offer me a great deal of freedom and trust to create my print and online pages the way I envisage them.

Q. Do you think that there are copyright issues surrounding blogging within the fashion industry?

Eve: Very much so, the main element that devalues blogging and the freedom behind fashion writing is the ease of plagiarism and how widespread its use now is. Unless you are formally and contractually writing for a publication or blog, there is no regulation or formality to check the authenticity of your work.

Q. Do you ever not want to share work because you worry about it being copied?

Eve: No, to be honest this has never really occurred to me (otherwise I wouldn’t work!). Ultimately nothing is an ‘original idea’ these days: whether that be within art, design, writing themes or concepts. My main experience of this is within creative styling – where up-and-coming stylists look to your work for inspiration perhaps and ultimately the result is more of a replication than an original thought. But I think this is fairly commonplace at the beginning of a styling career and I don’t focus on it too much.

Q. Social media is embedded in the career that you have; do you have any advice on how to successfully walk the line between the informal aspects of social media platforms such as Facebook or Pinterest and the need to be professional?

Eve: Social media is an incredibly useful tool commercially and very much a must in this industry I feel. In my experience, the stats speak for themselves: I have had more work requests and enquiries through my facebook page and twitter account than I receive via my website or email. I find the professional and personal lines quite straight-forward to manage – I have a professional ‘work’ page that is public and people are free to follow and ‘like’ as they please. The same goes for my twitter account: both are work-related only. I then have a personal facebook account profile that I endeavour to maintain as private and a separate entity. Keeping the two separate is key: I do my best not to let the lines blur.

Q. In your magazine work, do you ever find illustration a way that creates something unique, that perhaps a photograph just couldn’t do?

Eve: Illustration is a medium, which is very rarely utilised within the magazines I contribute to – or in the magazine industry in general in this country. I think a re-education is required by readers to fully appreciate the skill of illustration over a photographic image. Bringing this topic to my attention – it is something I would love to incorporate more of, as fashion illustration is a true skill. Many people pick up a camera (or a camera phone) and can declare themselves a photographer but illustration is a real art form, taking notable talent, time and attention to detail.

Q. Finally, if you are looking at an online source of work, e.g. a blog, what do you think most determines its success?

Eve: Several factors: firstly it’s immediate aesthetic appearance – to command my attention, and an intriguing title / profile image or ‘blurb’ to engage my interest. These days, I tend to appreciate more imagery in balance to less text, as I follow several online blogs – it’s a time factor. Once it has my attention, its ‘success’ in my opinion comes down to its originality, current approach (contemporary in style regardless of subject), tone and use of language. The full package!

Barbier and the new detail of Street Style: Final

The author sees the final interpretation of Barbier’s work as very successful. As previously stated within the earlier stages of the blog, detailed hand work does not come naturally to the author. The process of focusing on individual aspects of an image have given the author a far greater appreciation and ability to create something that has more prowess than previously thought could be achieved. The colour palette used within the image has helped to further the authors understanding of what colours can create a successful image, using this selection of stark contrasting colours has not offered a clashing image, but yet a period inspired and softer image than to be expected.