The other day I was studying an old photograph that I had taken while on holiday in Crete of the Venetian Harbour in Chania. I was wondering what I could do with it.  In fact, I’d been looking at it and wondering for some years because it doesn’t stand alone as a photograph.  It wasn’t until I was going through my cache of background textures for another piece that inspiration struck. I chanced upon a photograph of moss-covered rock which,  combined with the harbour, formed the basis of an image I could work on.  A number of tweaks here and several blending changes there (in Photoshop, as usual) enabled me to create this kind of dirty Canaletto-crossed-with-J M W Turner, if you will!

The Gloria Swanson Tattoo was inspired by Edward Steichen‘s well-known headshot of the Hollywood actress covered in lace and held by the Museum of Modern Art. I had remembered it as an image by Man Ray so it is just as well that I checked.  Both photographers were renowned for their Hollywood and fashion photography in the 1920s and 1930s. The Swanson photo (Hello-Tuesday) and the vintage wallpaper (MGB-Stock) image  I used to create the lace effect are from Deviantart.

There’s a rather marvellous shop in Berlin that sells vintage postcards, a shop I discovered a few years ago. Bartko-Reher-OHG’s site provides hours of delight and I have to be strong not to buy up all their stock in any one day!  I bought the above  Charlie Chaplin postcard about three years ago but it has taken me this long to do anything with it!

This last image is a vintage advertisement from The Graphics Fairy which stars the singer and dancer Mademoiselle Vanoni who was, according to an old cutting from The New York Times, dated 30 March, 1885, an exuberant performer. I have no doubt of it!

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and keep laughing!

Sarah

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