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| 11/4/16 water-soluble pencils |
If you’ve seen the way I dress, you know that fashion is not
a high priority in my life, and clothing as an art form is not of particular
interest. But I am interested in the
creative spirit, and it was that interest that inspired me to go see Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style
now on exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum.
Even as a teenager, Laurent’s passion for fashion design was
unequivocal. One of my favorite parts of the exhibit was a set of paper dolls
and clothes for them (never before exhibited) that he had made as a teen. I am
always fascinated when I learn about people who had a strong creative drive at
such a young age – and then went on to pursue their lifelong passion.
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| 11/4/16 water-soluble colored pencils |
Another part of the exhibit I enjoyed almost more than the
garments was a huge collection of his drawings, each accompanied by attached
fabric swatches. I’m sure many contemporary fashion designers use computers to
help them now, but back in YSL’s early days, he used ordinary pencils and
paper. Sketched on yellowing graph paper, the drawings still conveyed the
freshness of when he first conceived the designs – that sense of
experimentation was evident. And then to see the eventual finished design that
came from an initial sketch seemed all the more remarkable.
Color junkie that I am, I was dazzled by the main part of
the exhibit that was organized by hue. Walls displaying color-coordinated
fabric swatches would be followed by mannequins wearing designs in the same hue
family. Scrumptious eye candy!
I was happy that I had arrived at SAM shortly after it opened
when the crowds hadn’t yet gathered, because I was able to find a few tucked-away
spots where I could sketch without getting in the way. I had to laugh at all
the bald mannequins with stretched out, non-human proportions – my life-drawing
practice didn’t prepare me for that!
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| 11/4/16 water-soluble graphite pencil and rainbow pencil |
Technical note: You’ve heard me go on about water-soluble colored pencils lately, and I have to say
that they are an ideal sketching medium for museums. While wet media are almost
universally forbidden at museums, I’ve never been to one that prohibited
pencils of any kind. As is often the case, the exhibits were very dimly
lit, so I could barely distinguish among pencil hues in my bag. Nonetheless, I
could get the colors down relatively quickly, and a Technalo water-soluble
pencil (my current favorite graphite pencil) put in shadows easily. Later, over
lunch at SAM’s Taste café, I used a waterbrush to activate the pencil marks for
a bit more contrast and shadow.
While I was doing exactly that, a woman came up to me and
said, “Are you Tina??” It turned out to be a blog reader who had caught me in the
act! Great to meet you, Carol! I am thrilled to know that you enjoy the blog!
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| A set of paper dolls Laurent made as a teenager. |
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| I loved seeing Laurent's drawings! |
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| Dazzling color-themed exhibits! |
Nice job on the fashions! They can be fun to draw. The NYC Urban Sketchers went to see an exhibit of Isaac Mizrahi's fashions this past year and we got to sketch some of them, but it was so crowded and hard to find a place to stand. Yes, the wc pencils are great to use in a museum. Sometimes the guards don't bother you, but a friend recently had her watercolors taken at the Met and only returned to her when she was leaving.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post on the exhibit. I'm also not one for high fashion but this makes me want to see it.
ReplyDeleteI do watch some of Project Runway (mostly for Tim Gunn) and the designers DO sketch in sketchbooks. There was a single season when they were given tablets but that didn't last past that one season.