I’m pleased to say that my team for Austin Fashion Week won the People’s Choice Award for Best Mash Up Team this past Saturday night. The people let their voices be heard and decided they liked our photo the most. While I’m not deeply involved in the fashion industry, I decided to participate in Austin’s third annual fashion week and look what happened. Everything came together and we were awarded the golden (spray painted) boot.
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“Hindered Waverer”
graphite, soft pastel & coffee on 11″x14″ watercolor paper
Yes, you read that right. I used coffee on this drawing. I’ve seen other artists use tea to paint like a watercolor. Several years ago I was drawing in a coffee shop and decided to see what would happen if I used coffee to paint since both coffee and tea stain paper. I discovered that, while it doesn’t appear very dark, it does leave a very nice sepia-like tone. In fact, back when people used to actually develop photographs, they would use coffee or tea to stain the prints and give them a sepia tone.
Note: The following is my response to a letter I received regarding photographs I published on my website recently. Names of the attorney, their client, and trademark have been removed. It is being published to serve as a record that I have complied with their wishes by their deadline. A letter has been sent overnight via FedEX and a notarized copy exists in my records.
RE: Infringement of __________ Trademark and Trespass
Dear Mr. _________,
I have received your letter dated August 23, 2011 regarding my business’ use of the ___________ name. Per your request, I have removed all photographs taken at _______’s property, including images titled “_______________”, from www.daviddelara.com and related websites. I will not use the name __________ now or in the future in regards to work produced by my business or in any related promotions or marketing. I respect your client’s wishes regarding use of its brand name. It was not my intention to create confusion and imply that ___________ endorsed or is associated with the art and photography of David de Lara.
Sincerely,
David de Lara
This year I decided to try something new and am participating in Austin Fashion Week 2011. While I don’t fancy myself a fashion photographer, I figured it would be an interesting experience. I was randomly teamed with a wardrobe designer, makeup artist, hair stylist, and jewelry designer. Then we chose a model from a casting call and we created the look for the image you see here.
Our team’s name is Bella Corazon and we’re in competition for Best Mashup Team. Vote for us here. You can also vote for me as Best Photographer for the Austin Fashion Awards. Use all your web browsers and all your email addresses to cast your votes until August 26th.
Austin Fashion Week kicks off this Saturday, August 20th. A schedule of events is on their website. I’ll be out and about at different events all week. I have a feeling the week will be a little more glamorous than my usual adventures, but the principle remains the same since there will be plenty of booze and broads.
“The Silent Circus”
oil on 16″x20″ gesso board
This is one of the few times you’ll see a painting from me where the woman is bald. I was going to make it a little more over the top with designs on her head that would remind you of the circus. However, when I started adding them, they just looked silly. So I left most of her head and face covered in a white make up. While it isn’t as direct as it was originally supposed to be, it still plays with the idea that our overactive brains can be compared to a crazy circus and we use masks to hide ourselves.
model: Lacheln
When I saw this photo, it immediately reminded me of a doll. Because of the way the light hit her, there’s a creepy kind of factor since her eyes have a blank expression that dolls often have.
“Die by the Drop”
acrylic, graphite & colored pencil on 24″x30″ canvas
You’ve seen the progress of this piece in a couple of previous posts (part one and part two) and those who follow me on Twitter or Facebook saw a nearly complete version late one night. Now “Die by the Drop” is done and ready to show.
This artwork went through quite a change from beginning to end. It started life as a photo and then turned into a painting. The original image served as a guide and model since I painted directly over the photo. It was a new process for me that I got the idea to do during a road trip a couple months ago. While I think it has a slightly different feel compared to how I normally create figures freehand, I’m pleased with the results.
Much of my artwork explores my psychological, philosophical, and existential thoughts and ideas. There are a couple of ways I look at this painting. One is melting away into oblivion and the other is trying to stay whole or be a complete person. In fact, I think it’s a combination of both. Also, since I originally used a photograph in this piece, it also deals with my ideas of distorting reality and questioning what’s real.
And here you thought I was all about naked girls. Well, truth be told, I do like them. However, one night I started developing a theory about my reasoning behind that which ties into my thoughts about existence.
