Meeting with Kurt. Week 7even. The Magical Number. Almost mid-term.
So I ended up getting that nasty cold many others seem to have and gotten over already. Drat! I hate being physically sick. Hopefully all of this medication will do me some good and I won't get sick again for many years to come.
First things first. Thank you to the following for allowing me to be so obsessed with my thesis project.
- Kurt (I know that's what you signed up for... Thank you anyway) I appreciate your lead, your thoughts and suggestions.
- Christopher. He will take a few minutes to listen to my latest ranting and reinvention's on the story.
- Roxanne C-B. When I feel overwhelmed you know how to break things down for me. What new areas to consider as far as investigating. Thank you.
- Adam and Leslie, my painting tutors. Amazing people. They understand the history of the period I would like to portray using Little Red Riding Hood at the base. They allowed me to interview them about that era in history; which happens to be their favorite; and we were able to brain storm so many interesting scenarios based on the control I had suggested. The control is, that Charles Perrault wrote the tale of morality based on a real situation. They are willing to teach me what I need to know even if it's the smallest thing like how to make story boards and thumbnail drawings work for me. I get so unconfident at times. They have found a way to instruct me so I can forget my debilitating self-doubt and get on with the task at hand.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've done a great deal of research about Charles Perrault and his time in France. He was born to a wealthy family and became a lawyer. That is certainly not the extent of the research. There is a link to more information about Charles Perrault on the right hand side of this page.
I've decided to create a Little Red that could have really existed in Perrault's world in 1694. Maybe one he observed and then told tales about in a more poetic way. I think I've already written about this aspect of the project before.... Just to write about it again excites me. The project could end up being a merging of all of the skills I've learned at PNCA up to this point.
Things about the story that will need to be considered:
Plus... Plausible answers.
Geography. How far away is Grandma's house?
What inventions were prevalent at the time?
What was the art like? Could everyone paint and draw?
What was the life of a peasant like compared to an aristocrat?
Aristocrats had lavish parties, sometimes utilizing 492 servants. What did those parties look like? What was the latest fashion? Most often these parties were at Versailles.
Hair styles of the day.
Plants, foliage, trees, dirt, land
Houses. What does an upper lower class house look like?
I believe Little Red was upper lower class in her peasant village.
What was considered beautiful as far as women were concerned during that time?
What type of friends did Little Red have?
When did she adopt that nick name?
What did Little Red do in her spare time? Did she keep a journal?
Who wrote to Little Red? Who did Little Red write letters to? Did she keep the letters?
What type of books would Little Red be reading?
Since Little Red was always known for her beauty, does she have pictures of herself rendered by her playmates? Similar to what John Singer Sargent did when he practiced drawing by drawing his sister using pencil, watercolor or paints.
Since they lived out of the city, they surely had chickens, cows, a horse (maybe two), pigs and a pet dog? Maybe a pet cat too? I have to research and see which animal would have been more popular and plausible at the time. I am currently imagining a weenie dog. It could have been a gift from the grandmother? Still thinking about this one.
Do they have a parrot? The aristocrats had them.
Is Little Red's dad a soldier or sailor? Does he do a little looting and pirating on the side?
Were they social climbers?
Portraits to consider creating.
King Louis the XIV
Charles Perrault
Grandmother
Mother
Little Red
Wolf
Woodsman
Red's father
The dogs
more about the dogs later
Painting scene ideas: First brainstorm.... so these are all subject to change as I see fit.... through experimentation.
1. Little Red at the kitchen table, reading a letter, addressed to her from the woodsman. The year is 1694 or so and Little Red is now 24. She is going to be considered an old made if someone like the grandmother or mother don't intervene soon. Little Red isn't concerned. It's the furthest thing from her mind. She is happy in the village with her friends and has a great relationship with her mom and grandmother. If her father is a sailor, they too have a good relationship. He brings her gifts from his overseas travels. Gifts like starfish, coral, bugs and an array of sea-creatures she would have never encountered in France. We see her at the kitchen table, reading the letter by lamplight. It's close to being dark and Red's mother is behind her pretending to wipe a dish while looking over her shoulder as she reads the letter. Little Red's cape hangs on the back door, in the dark. The mother is looking for some type of promising reaction from Little Red while she reads the letter. Little Red is reading the letter to appease her mother and is rather bored.
+++
Feeling of piece:
- Becoming dark (twighlight)
- Reading letter by kerosene lamp. Did they have kerosene at that time?
- Little Red's boredom is evident.
- Her mother reading the letter over her shoulder, intrusive.
- Weenie dog laying by Red's feet.
2. The year is 1680 and Little Red Riding Hood about 10 years old, playing in the forrest with her friends. She is doing a handstand next to a tree, her bloomers are showing. All the kids are laughing around her. They are all playing, laughing and clapping their hands. She is such a goof. They light of innocence is on the children playing, lurking is the wolf. He spots the beautiful Little Red and decides he will stalk her and make himself known when the time is right.
+++
This image was inspired from a Shots Magazine issue #89, Autumn 2005. This issues cover reminds me of a depressed Little Red. {Pictures of drawings to come.} {It was an earlier exploration that I put in my sketchbook}
+++
Feeling of piece:
- Eminent danger that the kids are completely unaware of.
- They are all being watched with particular attention to Little Red.
- The Wolf is watching and takes notes on what he observes.
- In this crowd of kids is the future woodsman who will be promised to Little Red when she is 24 or so, if he or she don't act sooner. His family has always worked in the woods and know it well.
- Innocence, play, yet danger lurks where least expected.
3. The year is 1694. On the way to grandma's house Little Red, age 24 is getting old to not be married yet. She meets the wolf along the way. I'm not sure how I would like to set this up. Possibly Little Red stops into a church along the way, to pray for her ill grandmother? Maybe the wolf makes first contact in that situation? Not sure yet. She is wearing her beautiful red cloak made of fine wool that her grandmother created for her. She looks stunning in it. She has a basket around her right elbow and in the basket is bread and wine with some cheese. When she first meets the wolf, she is somewhat expressionless, knowing that she has never seen him before and he is taking up her time. She almost looks annoyed. The wolf, knowing her through years of observation says something that turns Little Red's face from annoyed to laughing. I think this may be two paintings instead of just one. So I will save more of this laughing Little Red for the fourth idea.
+++
Feeling of piece:
- When the wolf arrives, the weather turns for the worse. A storm seems to be brewing. Clouds appear where there was once sunshine. It starts to become windy. You can tell by the trees, brush, cloak and attire the wolf is wearing.
4. The charmed Little Red. The wolf says something that seduces Little Red and sustains her interest enough to have further conversation with him. We see her smiling affectionately touching his arm.
5. After Red meets the wolf, we see her in a field of flowers picking the most beautiful to put in the basket and give to her grandmother. The weather is bright again. Birds are about.
6. The wolf at the grandmothers door.
7. Little Red at the grandmothers door. The door is slightly ajar and she immediately senses danger. Curious and worried she walks in and greets her grandmother. This may have to be two paintings. Both critical points in staying true to the story.
8. The Wolf has a house and he owns a wolfhound. The wolfhound is chained near the dog house. The weenie dog comes too close and the wolfhound devours the weenie dog.
In considering this painting, the weenie dog represents the grandmother, the stability the grandmother offers. Weenie dogs are known for being very loyal to their family and mean to strangers. The wolfhound looks as though he hears something coming off in the distance, with blood on his mouth, he looks at the audience, ears perked up to hear more clearly. It's also a simple way of repeating the tale without the use of people. These paintings will be beautiful and the faces could become distracting. So I thought it would be good to put an intermediate painting into the series.
Strategy for getting this work done.
Research... what does each thing look like.... notes.
Make thumbnail drawings....
1. Design the layout of the peasant's room.
2. Design the clothing.
3. Decide on the vanishing point and what perspective. One or two point.
4. What direction is the light coming from?
Next post will be about reference paintings.
First things first. Thank you to the following for allowing me to be so obsessed with my thesis project.
- Kurt (I know that's what you signed up for... Thank you anyway) I appreciate your lead, your thoughts and suggestions.
- Christopher. He will take a few minutes to listen to my latest ranting and reinvention's on the story.
- Roxanne C-B. When I feel overwhelmed you know how to break things down for me. What new areas to consider as far as investigating. Thank you.
- Adam and Leslie, my painting tutors. Amazing people. They understand the history of the period I would like to portray using Little Red Riding Hood at the base. They allowed me to interview them about that era in history; which happens to be their favorite; and we were able to brain storm so many interesting scenarios based on the control I had suggested. The control is, that Charles Perrault wrote the tale of morality based on a real situation. They are willing to teach me what I need to know even if it's the smallest thing like how to make story boards and thumbnail drawings work for me. I get so unconfident at times. They have found a way to instruct me so I can forget my debilitating self-doubt and get on with the task at hand.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've done a great deal of research about Charles Perrault and his time in France. He was born to a wealthy family and became a lawyer. That is certainly not the extent of the research. There is a link to more information about Charles Perrault on the right hand side of this page.
I've decided to create a Little Red that could have really existed in Perrault's world in 1694. Maybe one he observed and then told tales about in a more poetic way. I think I've already written about this aspect of the project before.... Just to write about it again excites me. The project could end up being a merging of all of the skills I've learned at PNCA up to this point.
Things about the story that will need to be considered:
Plus... Plausible answers.
Portraits to consider creating.
more about the dogs later
Painting scene ideas: First brainstorm.... so these are all subject to change as I see fit.... through experimentation.
1. Little Red at the kitchen table, reading a letter, addressed to her from the woodsman. The year is 1694 or so and Little Red is now 24. She is going to be considered an old made if someone like the grandmother or mother don't intervene soon. Little Red isn't concerned. It's the furthest thing from her mind. She is happy in the village with her friends and has a great relationship with her mom and grandmother. If her father is a sailor, they too have a good relationship. He brings her gifts from his overseas travels. Gifts like starfish, coral, bugs and an array of sea-creatures she would have never encountered in France. We see her at the kitchen table, reading the letter by lamplight. It's close to being dark and Red's mother is behind her pretending to wipe a dish while looking over her shoulder as she reads the letter. Little Red's cape hangs on the back door, in the dark. The mother is looking for some type of promising reaction from Little Red while she reads the letter. Little Red is reading the letter to appease her mother and is rather bored.
+++
Feeling of piece:
- Becoming dark (twighlight)
- Reading letter by kerosene lamp. Did they have kerosene at that time?
- Little Red's boredom is evident.
- Her mother reading the letter over her shoulder, intrusive.
- Weenie dog laying by Red's feet.
2. The year is 1680 and Little Red Riding Hood about 10 years old, playing in the forrest with her friends. She is doing a handstand next to a tree, her bloomers are showing. All the kids are laughing around her. They are all playing, laughing and clapping their hands. She is such a goof. They light of innocence is on the children playing, lurking is the wolf. He spots the beautiful Little Red and decides he will stalk her and make himself known when the time is right.
+++
This image was inspired from a Shots Magazine issue #89, Autumn 2005. This issues cover reminds me of a depressed Little Red. {Pictures of drawings to come.} {It was an earlier exploration that I put in my sketchbook}
+++
Feeling of piece:
- Eminent danger that the kids are completely unaware of.
- They are all being watched with particular attention to Little Red.
- The Wolf is watching and takes notes on what he observes.
- In this crowd of kids is the future woodsman who will be promised to Little Red when she is 24 or so, if he or she don't act sooner. His family has always worked in the woods and know it well.
- Innocence, play, yet danger lurks where least expected.
3. The year is 1694. On the way to grandma's house Little Red, age 24 is getting old to not be married yet. She meets the wolf along the way. I'm not sure how I would like to set this up. Possibly Little Red stops into a church along the way, to pray for her ill grandmother? Maybe the wolf makes first contact in that situation? Not sure yet. She is wearing her beautiful red cloak made of fine wool that her grandmother created for her. She looks stunning in it. She has a basket around her right elbow and in the basket is bread and wine with some cheese. When she first meets the wolf, she is somewhat expressionless, knowing that she has never seen him before and he is taking up her time. She almost looks annoyed. The wolf, knowing her through years of observation says something that turns Little Red's face from annoyed to laughing. I think this may be two paintings instead of just one. So I will save more of this laughing Little Red for the fourth idea.
+++
Feeling of piece:
- When the wolf arrives, the weather turns for the worse. A storm seems to be brewing. Clouds appear where there was once sunshine. It starts to become windy. You can tell by the trees, brush, cloak and attire the wolf is wearing.
4. The charmed Little Red. The wolf says something that seduces Little Red and sustains her interest enough to have further conversation with him. We see her smiling affectionately touching his arm.
5. After Red meets the wolf, we see her in a field of flowers picking the most beautiful to put in the basket and give to her grandmother. The weather is bright again. Birds are about.
6. The wolf at the grandmothers door.
7. Little Red at the grandmothers door. The door is slightly ajar and she immediately senses danger. Curious and worried she walks in and greets her grandmother. This may have to be two paintings. Both critical points in staying true to the story.
8. The Wolf has a house and he owns a wolfhound. The wolfhound is chained near the dog house. The weenie dog comes too close and the wolfhound devours the weenie dog.
In considering this painting, the weenie dog represents the grandmother, the stability the grandmother offers. Weenie dogs are known for being very loyal to their family and mean to strangers. The wolfhound looks as though he hears something coming off in the distance, with blood on his mouth, he looks at the audience, ears perked up to hear more clearly. It's also a simple way of repeating the tale without the use of people. These paintings will be beautiful and the faces could become distracting. So I thought it would be good to put an intermediate painting into the series.
Strategy for getting this work done.
Research... what does each thing look like.... notes.
Make thumbnail drawings....
1. Design the layout of the peasant's room.
2. Design the clothing.
3. Decide on the vanishing point and what perspective. One or two point.
4. What direction is the light coming from?
Next post will be about reference paintings.
