All of my research can be found in my sketchbook but these are a few drawings from reference and pages of information that I am particularly interested in at the moment.
 |
| Pencil drawing |
Ella Fitzgerald's hair was ever changing and there were some iconic hairstyles which were good to draw. I think these could be simplified down into shapes and maybe would still be recognisable on a very small scale, on the stamps for example.
This is some general information about Ella Fitzgerald explaining her career and talents. I an really pleased with this drawing I did in fine liners and marker pens. It was done from reference from a photograph but I found it challenging to work in reverse, leaving the white areas blank and having to work around them. I like the atmosphere of the drawing and might continue with this idea later on in the project, maybe incorporating colour or stencil work.
Ella's contribution to charity both before and after her death was something that caught my attention. Her inspiration for doing this charity work was closely related to her childhood so this led me to look into that. She had a troubled childhood which led to her living on the streets eventually. It was interesting to see how she could rise from such a low point to being this huge star - this is interesting to me but I feel like it is a cliche direction to take this project in as 'rags to riches' stories are quite common, especially in this industry.
Her friendship with Marilyn Monroe and the story behind it links to themes of racism in these times. My only concern about using this story in my final images is that I need to be careful that Marilyn doesn't become the centre of attention as she is more iconic and well known than Fitzgerald.
No comments:
Post a Comment