Creative Visionary

OOAK Miniature Teddy Bear -

Recently I've decided to pull together all my creative endeavors...well, not all that would be impossible for a Scanner as myself. I created a sort of portfolio demonstrating my doll making and illustrations to costume design and styling of photo shoots. How does one take a melting pot of creativity and meld it together as a marketable skill and a cleanly designed resume? If anyone reading this has the answer, I'm open to suggestions. It is frustrating knowing that you could contribute to a company but unable to focus what you want to say. Too many employers seek creative people with a title already established. How about a company that says, find me some creative people and then find them the job. This is what I was told Google does but I have yet to be solicited by Google!

Paper Dresses

With all the social media platforms to share one's work, it can be overwhelming. I love love love Instagram and with that you don't have to write as much! I realized I hadn't posted in some time so catching up...I have made paper doll brides getting inspiration from all the bridal magazines and the beautiful gowns and couture. I now have created fashion in the haute couture realm inspired by Chanel and Versace and all in paper again. I was working recently on my children's book pages and was just in the zone with this medium and asked myself why I got distracted with other media when paper has always been my passion!

Paper Passion-Illustrating with Paper Collage

Focus is a difficult word for me but I've recently decided to be more adult and focus on my paper illustration passion. I have loved creating with paper all my life and not sure why all the distractions from the medium occurred. So 25 pages of an upcoming children's book with about 13 more to go.

Details have always been a double edged sword for me because with details your illustrations are engaging and rich but then lots of details and it slows me down. I have also begun hiding an animal on each page. He's always there hanging out. I won't say what he is but it should be fun for children to start to spot him as they read the book.

Illustration Friday "Heart"

I have been working a lot in my paper medium so participating in this week's Illustration Friday's theme had to be in paper.

HEART

2013 watercolor painting for Garden Walk

This year's poster for our annual Park Hill Garden Walk 2013! Each year I have some sort of bucolic vision of what I want the brand to feel like. This year, however, I didn't have something pictured. So I perused my photos and found this one of a window in Venice, Italy and decided that was the look I wanted for our Garden Walk this year. So, Voila! There are homes in this neighborhood with a Juliette balcony and pots galore in many homes so I'm not too far from reality!

Paper Doll Ballerina

I am still in love with making my paper brides which, by the way, will be featured in Art Doll Quarterly's June 2013 issue but I needed to try another silhouette -the ballerina. Both give me the opportunity to create costumes from paper with delicate details and lovely paper doll movement. Here is my first ballerina drawn from a newspaper article about a ballet which was in Denver recently!

Angelia McLean: Paper Dolls

Angelia McLean: Paper Dollshttp://www.belleglamourphotography.com

Paper Dolls

I remember playing with paper dolls. They weren't oriented towards Disney and television characters either. They were original illustrations of pretty women with a beautiful wardrobe that you had to punch out or cut. Punch out ones seemed to come along later now that I think about it. I kept the sets in old cigar boxes. I think the graphics and the cutting them out was the most appealing. Once you had put on all the outfits, you were kind of done with them for a while. So it was probably more of a means than an end of a plaything.

My first paper dolls in my ephemera collection were from a Pennsylvania church rummage sale. They were meticulously cut from old magazines having been printed I suppose in a publication etc. Then all placed in labeled envelopes. I was able to discern the date only by an ad that I found and then Google'd. It had been printed in part on back of one of the dolls. I figured 1903 or so.

From here over the years I came across sets or so. Some being in nice lithographed pocket folders and others in zip lock bags, their original state unclear. But I remain on the hunt and fascinated by them.

It was when I was creating some promotional material for Belle Glamour Photography that what would be nice was some originality. I was just creating the boring postcard and tri-fold brochure. I stopped and thought, "I can do better than this type of stuff!" And having thought about what would be fun for me to get in the mail is something interesting and novel. I thought of a boudoir paper doll. Now, I'm sort of hooked creating my own. But, here is my retro boudoir paper doll that I will send or give out to prospective photography portrait clients.

Belle Glamour Photography MOD Fashion Shoot

Belle Glamour Does MOD Fashion Shoot

I suppose it shows my age if I admit to loving the MOD Squad when I was little. It was so cool as a show and the 3 characters seemed so tough and smart. Not that my recent fashion shoot had much to do with that show but whenever I think MOD I think MOD Squad! With 7 models, and a fabulous Makeup Artist, I styled and photographed this fun editorial shoot. The models had so much fun dressing up and trying to coordinate the found outfits. None of the clothes except a few vintage accessories were from that time period but by combing through Goodwill stores and finding that right look that reminded me of the '60's I found some fun fashions!

Here is the video above for the shoot-Enjoy!