The Vargas Girls



The airbrush class was in Louisville, Kentucky.
(That vintage fur coat weighed a ton!)

(Are you sure it doesn't make me look fat?) :-)



As I have written before in an older blog, I fell in love with the airbrush when I was a teenager.  Years later, while working in a photography studio, the opportunity to study airbrushing presented itself. I attended a three day seminar in Louisville, Kentucky, and I was hooked!  Later I would be teaching the airbrush technique.



This "template" is from the original
pattern from the long ago airbrush course.

If I were to airbrush her right cheek,
I would paint right along the edge where
it meets her cheek.



The airbrush instructor was an older gentleman from Chicago.  He had a book of the art of Alberto Vargas and told us we should be able to paint similar figures (yeah, right! :-)) using two template patterns he gave us in class. Some details to the paintings are done with a brush and watercolor. 

Alberto Vargas, (1896-1982), was a Peruvian painter of pin up girls.  His dad, Max,  was a famous photographer who taught him how to use an airbrush. At a very young age, I was studying those figures and thought I had never seen such beautiful painting.  I think it was my dad's boss who gave him a yearly subscription to Playboy when I was young.  ( I sneaked and looked at the magazines just to see the Vargas girl, I could not imagine how someone could paint so beautifully)

My first "official" airbrush painting, I won a second place
award out of 660 paintings at the Dulin Sidewalk Show in
Knoxville, Tennesse, in the 1970s.

I really needed this at
that time in my life.

Years later when I was able to attend the class,  it was exciting to me when the airbrush instructor used a book of Vargas pin up art as a perfect example of what could be achieved with an airbrush...the Vargas girls I had admired for years.

Back to the beautiful art of Alberto Vargas ...

Jane Russell, 1942

I adore the art deco influence in this early Vargas portrait.  Notice the lines
reflected in the compact's mirror, I thought "how clever" to repeat
the deco design that way.

Those elongated fingers ... I simply love this painting.

The Day with Ginny, Part I

One of Ginny's creations using glass beads, vintage

jewelry and family mementos.

Ginny and Dan, December 2011

 

Recently on my blog, I had mentioned meeting Ginny and Dan through some mutual friends.  We met them again at our friend's Christmas party and Ginny and I talked of getting together.  Ginny is an artist and her husband Dan is also an artist and architect.  Yesterday was the day for Ginny and me to meet.

We met for breakfast in Dallas at the Corner Bakery.  We had a good conversation, actually a very deep conversation (love those kind) and learned more about each other's lives.  We left the Corner Bakery for Ginny's house, she lived nearby.  I had been wanting to see Ginny's and Dan's work for a long time.

The moment I stepped inside Ginny's home, I was overwhelmed!  I loved Ginny's art and was impressed at the amount of work she has completed since she started doing Zentangle last September.  I didn't know what Zentangle was either but it is a "method of creating beautiful images from repetitive designs and patterns."



Even Ginny's switch plates are works of art!

Wow!  An example of Ginny's work!  This piece may be
an entry in a local art show, she is making a decision.  She was explaining how
she sees images in her designs that appear after
 she has completed her drawings.





Ginny had these works displayed on a table, I love
the arrangement and the framing.



She is dedicated, she works on her art everyday.



Of course I loved this trio!  What great designs
and colors combinations!



 

Ginny and Dan made this chandelier!
She strung together the prisms and crystals.  I love the
shadows cast upon the ceiling.

Dan made this special stand for Ginny.  Hanging
are more beautiful strands she made for another chandelier.  What makes their chandeliers more
special is she incorporates old family pins, broaches and other sentimental
pieces into the design




.

I love chandeliers, prisms and crystal so I just stood there looking

at these and was totally mesmerized!

These pieces will find themselves in one of

Ginny's chandeliers!



In Ginny's studio ... it's fun to see behind the scenes.

Ginny standing in her studio!
It was full of treasures!

This beautiful back splash was made by Ginny!

 



I also found it most impressive that she can
also paint in a realistic style.

We left Ginny's home and headed to mine.  I gathered up some of my work to show Ginny and took her on a tour of the house.  We talked about different kinds of papers, books, ink pens, my airbrush, ideas ... 


It was a wonderful day!  There are so many things I wanted to share about Ginny, Dan and their family's art,  I am going to have to do a part II of this blog.  Wait until you see Dan's art ...