First Night Design | Harbour Parasols #Art #New

You have no idea just how peachy it has been to create a piece of art with my new vision after spending so many months re-blogging earlier pieces and promoting those which have sold. My heart and soul are leaping with joy. Just as well in view of the unconscionable state prevailing in the UK after a general election. I am reminded of my favourite quote from erstwhile US President Jimmy Carter (and there are many to choose from) which says it all when one thinks of Prime Minister Theresa May’s parentage: the daughter of a vicar no less. “If you don’t want your tax dollars to help the poor, then stop saying you want a country based on Christian values because you don’t.’

Harbour Parasols Framed Prints © Sarah Vernon [Redbubble]

The original is a photochrom from the Library of Congress of the entrance to the harbour at St. Malo in France taken between 1890 and 1900. I duplicated the image, ran the jpg through the Topaz Impressions Abstraction II filter, which I added as a third layer before topping with one of my yellow textures. I made use of a variety of Photoshop blends such as Darken, Lighter Colour and Screen.

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfilment centres in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

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“The Louise Brooks Tattoo” by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble #Sold!

Features / Hat Heads 25 March 2014 / Inspired by Edward Steichen’s headshot of Hollywood actress Gloria Swanson covered in lace (Museum of Modern Art). / Photoshop / Louise Brooks: Hello-Tuesday / Wallpaper: MGB-Stock /

The still is from a 1928 film, Beggars of Life, where Brooks plays a girl who disguises herself in beggar’s clothing to escape the police after killing her abusive stepfather. Directed by William Wellman, it also stars Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen and Roscoe Karns, and was based on a book by Jim Tully, published in 1924.

• Buy this artwork on home decor, stationery, bags, and more.

Source: “The Louise Brooks Tattoo” by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

N.B. I’m not currently responding to comments or visiting blogs because of ill-health but I much appreciate your support.

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Hollywood Vintage Gloria Postcard | Zazzle #Sold

Inspired by Edward Steichen’s portrait of Hollywood actress Gloria Swanson covered in lace (Museum of Modern Art).

Orientation: Postcard

Create your own vacation-worthy postcards right here. Any view you’ve seen, any monument you’ve fallen in love with, can all be added to our postcards with our personalization tool. Craft touching, hand-written correspondence while on your next road trip!

• Dimensions: 4.25″ x 5.6″ (portrait) or 5.6″ x 4.25″ (landscape)
• Full color CMYK print process
• Double sided printing for no additional cost
• Postage rate: $0.34

Paper Type: Semi-Gloss

A thin, smooth paper designed for photo printing with the optimal color vibrancy —a solid choice for all your printing needs.

• Bright white, semi-gloss finish
• Semi-gloss finish helps photos pop
• 40% post-consumer content
• Made and printed in the USA

Source: Hollywood Vintage Gloria Postcard | Zazzle

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“The Cuckoo’s Note” Laptop Skins by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble #Gifts

Features / Art Universe 2 September 2015 / Creation 2 August 2015 / Crosses, Crafts & Collectibles 2 August 2015 / Everyday Women 30 July 2015. / Creation 26 July 2015. / Layered Up 27 July 2015. / Photoshop / Cuckoo: Biodiversity Library on Flickr. / Own textures. • Also buy this artwork on laptop covers, apparel, stickers, and more.

Source: “The Cuckoo’s Note” Laptop Skins by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

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Easter Egg Basket Card | Zazzle

Size: Greeting Card

Birthdays or holidays, good days or hard days, Zazzle’s customized greeting cards are the perfect way to convey your wishes on any occasion. Add a photo or pick a design and brighten someone’s day with a simple “hi”!

• Dimensions: 5″ x 7″ (portrait) or 7″ x 5″ (landscape)
• Full color CMYK print process
• All-sided printing for no additional cost
• Printable area on the back of the card is 3″ x 4″ (portrait) or 4″ x 3″ (landscape)

Standard white envelopes included

Paper Type: Matte

The most popular paper choice, Matte’s eggshell texture is soft to the touch with a smooth finish that provides the perfect backdrop for your chosen designs.

• Light white, uncoated matte finish with an eggshell texture
• Paper is easy to write on and won’t smudge
• Made and printed in the USA

Source: Easter Egg Basket Card | Zazzle

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“Black Stallion” Contrast Tanks by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

Features / Art Universe 3 March 2016 / Crosses, Crafts & Collectibles 27 January 2016 / New Creations 24 January 2016 / Artists with Disabilities 23 January 2015 / Creation 17 January 2016 / Everyday Women 14 January 2016 / Visual Texture 12 January 2016 / Pixelations 10 January 2016 /

Created in Photoshop with a Bakst illustration from Wikimedia and a texture by Lenabem-Anna J, which I adapted with one of my own textures.

• Also buy this artwork on apparel, stickers, phone cases, and more.

Source: “Black Stallion” Contrast Tanks by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

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The Cuckoo’s Note Wristwatch | Zazzle #Sold!

My delight knows no bounds!

Style: Women’s Perfect Square Black Leather Strap Watch

With a style that is feminine and chic, the Women’s Perfect Square Leather watch features a gorgeous leather band and a fully customizable face for the most unique timepiece you’ll ever own.

• Women’s wrist watch
• Material:
  • Face: Alloy
  • Strap: Leather
• Dimensions:
  • Face: 0.944″diameter
  • Strap: 8.86″ x 0.7″
  • Case: 1.25″diameter
  • Weight: 0.107lb
• 3-hand analog Japan Quartz®
• Full color custom printing on face
• Buckle closure
• Shower proof only
• 1 year manufacturers limited warranty
• Battery included
• This product is recommended for ages 13+

Source: The Cuckoo’s Note Wristwatch | Zazzle

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First Night Design | Une Valentine Parisienne #New #Art

I had a two-day window last week during which I could see rather better than usual. I read a book and created the piece below. Back to ‘normal’ now, though!

Une Valentine Parisienne © Sarah Vernon Framed Print at Crated

I blended and tweaked two images from Wikimedia. One is advertising a French event on 14th July 1915 in aid of The Great War. The other is a fashion illustration from Journal des dames et des modes, 1913, by H. Robert Dammy. Both are delightful in their own right but blending them together was a fascinating process and enhanced the Art Deco effect.

I can’t pretend it’s my favourite period in the history of the decorative arts when it comes to architecture and interior design but the fashion and illustration of the time has a place in my heart.

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

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Sleeping Beauty Favor Box | Zazzle

Celebrate your guests with custom favor boxes. Wonderful giveaways at weddings, birthdays, corporate events, and other parties. Designs are printed in full color, allowing you to perfectly coordinate with any theme!

• Dimensions: 2″l x 2″w x 2.75″h
• Printed in full color on high quality card stock
• Shipped flat, some simple assembly required

Source: Sleeping Beauty Favor Box | Zazzle

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“Viola Translated” Spiral Notebooks by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

Features / The Divine Feminine 30 October 2015 / Art Universe 4 October 2015 / Everyday Women 10 September 2015 / Layered Up 9 September 2015 / Take a black and white scan of actress Miss Lillah McCarthy (1875–1960) as Viola in Twelfth Night (1912) from an issue of Play Pictorial in my theatre collection. Throw on some magic with Photoshop in the form of textures by 2 Lil’ Owls along with a Cretan seascape photograph shot from on board a fishing boat, plus a texture from Angie Makes, and Viola is transformed, translated. I’m thinking of Quince to Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (’Thou art translated’, Act 3, Scene 1) when I use this word in the title. • Also buy this artwork on stationery, apparel, stickers, and more.

Source: “Viola Translated” Spiral Notebooks by Sarah Vernon | Redbubble

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First Night Design | Chinese Empress on Her Throne #Repost

FROM THE ARCHIVE 13th May 2014

Chinese Empress on Her Throne © First Night Design

While I have not specified which empress this is in the title, she was actually the Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi  or Cixi (1835-1908) and one of the most formidable of figures. According to King’s…

Source: First Night Design | Chinese Empress on Her Throne | First Night Design

First Night Design | Pre-Raphaelite Beauty #Art

Pre-Raphaelite Beauty © Sarah Vernon – Fine Art America

This adaptation of an autochrome photograph from Wikimedia by Robert Demachy (1859-1936), which was taken some time between 1907 and 1915, took a great deal of work to get just right.

Female nude draped in a blue veil, autochrome by Robert Demachy

The original image is enchanting but as soon as I saw it, I wanted to turn it into a painting with a hint of the Pre-Raphaelites about it — yes, one of those rare occasions when I knew what I desired and didn’t wait for one of my ‘accidents’!

I used various textures to give it colour and texture before using a detail of the clock from this image to create the top right-hand detail. I duplicated this detail and warped and shaped it to create an art nouveau pattern for the drape. I also removed her left arm as it looked slightly odd!

Pre-Raphaelite Beauty Mugs © Sarah Vernon

I had to think carefully when uploading it to my galleries as a lot of the groups (such as on Redbubble) don’t accept nudity. I had to tick boxes about ‘mature content’. I’m not sure I’ll do another nude any time soon!

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Look in my face; my name is Might-have-been;
I am also call’d No-more, Too-late, Farewell — Dante Gabriel Rossetti, (The House of Life: 97. A Superscription, 1-2)

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Not as she is, but as she fills his dream — Christina Rossetti, In An Artist’s Studio

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The term ‘Pre-Raphaelite’ is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history — Christopher Wood, Author of The Pre-Raphaelites

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Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | Roses of Yesteryear #Art

Roses of Yesteryear © Sarah Vernon at Redbubble

I fell in love a couple of weeks ago. The object of my affection was an autochromatic print of roses from a family garden in New South Wales dated 1909. I knew that I didn’t want to muck about with it in my usual fashion but only to clean up the dust and scratches and enhance the dusty pink with a peach overlay.

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“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

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“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”
― Alphonse Karr, A Tour Round My Garden

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Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | The Louise Brooks Tattoo Take 2 #AlteredVintage

Buy The Louise Brooks Tattoo Take 2 © Sarah Vernon from Redbubble

It’s time for another of my Edward Steichen-like Hollywood makeovers. When I’m in need of some glamour, I head straight for the silent movie headshots of the 1920s, especially as found on Hello Tuesday at Deviant Art, which is where I discovered this photograph of Louise Brooks.

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“I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept anything without wishing I had given it away.”
― Louise Brooks

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Some of you may remember that I was originally inspired by Edward Steichen’s famous photograph of actress Gloria Swanson covered in lace (Museum of Modern Art).  I’ve already done one such of Louise Brooks and this is ‘Take 2’!

In what one might say is now time-honoured fashion, I overlaid Brooks with this lace effect vintage wallpaper from MGB-Stock.

Buy The Louise Brooks Tattoo Spiral Notebook © Sarah Vernon from Redbubble

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“Most beautiful dumb girls think they are smart and get away with it, because other people, on the whole, aren’t much smarter.”
― Louise Brooks

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For more Hollywood Tattoo makeovers, click here.

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | The Eel Fisher’s Hut #Abstract #Art

The Eel Fisher’s Hut © Sarah Vernon @ Redbubble

Abstract created in Photoshop with a couple of textures from 2 Lil’ Owls and a photochrom colour print from Wikimedia of an eel fisher’s hut on the Bore (Bure River) England, between 1890 and 1900.

It’s something a little different from my usual work. It was adding the textures from 2 Lil’ Owls that completely changed my original idea — yes, I had one in mind for once. I added one texture in Normal mode and overlaid it with another in Colour Burn before setting the original photograph to Soft Light. The resulting fire damage effect was far too appealing to me to let it go.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England
Saatchi Art

Take care and keep laughing!