I've not yet received the latest copy of Paper Doll Studio (issue #114), the quarterly magazine published by the Original Paper Doll Artists Guild, but I believe it is on its way to me in the post. This was my contribution. The theme is 'Celebrate the Holidays'. Of course I went back to my own childhood for inspiration ...... but it was only after I had completed the first page that it dawned on me I had represented my sister and myself! So I called the 2 little girls Sharon and Melanie.
I loved making this set. I'm not sure yet where it will feature in the magazine but Jenny seemed to like it when I sent it in. And as usual I'm including both the completed pages here as well as the uncoloured sketch pages which are not printed in the magazine,
I have slipped behind with a couple of previous issues so I will feature them here as well.
Issue #113 was 'Chanel'. It took me a while to decide which decade I wanted to concentrate on .... but in the end I settled on the 1950's. I felt there was no way I could make a Chanel paper doll without including her classic tailored suit.
I opted to make something a little out of the ordinary here and depicted Coco Chanel's revolutionary short 1920's wedding dress, using a studio photograph of a bride (or model) that I've always loved.
Issue #112 was 'Favourite Mysteries'. We had just moved house when the deadline for submission was looming so I ended up with a doll that was a little bit simpler and more pared down than my usual efforts. I'm a great fan of Grace Kelly, so it was a lovely opportunity for me to showcase some of the wonderful costumes she wore as one of Hitchcock's blondes. My doll shows her in 'To Catch a Thief' Portraiture is not one of my strengths but I did enjoy making the clothes. And I was surprised to find my offering featured a lot more prominently in the magazine than I was expecting.
In the original sketch the dress on the right was going to include her legs (so I could give her matching shoes) but I decided they looked dreadful and removed them.
And finally to finish the last page I'm including here goes back to issue #108 - the Favourite Films theme. This was the only issue where I sent in multiple submissions. All three were published and I have included two already in previous posts ...... Galadriel from the Hobbit and The Hunger Games - Catching Fire I've not posted this page before - mainly because I ended up making poor Yul Brynner look like a rather strange alien. But I was happy with the ball gown so I'll pop it in here. It's the 'Shall we Dance' scene from 'The King and I' another very vivid childhood memory of mine.
