Tale of a Rococo Fan,

 

Marie sent me an email of a blurry photo scrap of a fan she once admired at an auction.

Being an ardent collector of antique fans.

Marie asked, I would like you to draw ✍️ in this style, 

A CUSTOM Watercolor of a man and lady sitting on a bench. 

And Pastel colors just as close to this detail off a fan that I have loved forever. 

Of course I said YES! 

I decided to tackle the woman first, 

Thinking she would be easier. Ha!

Always one to jump into the deep end and think about consequences later. How else did I end up to Paris?

I started looking at 18th century women…

Definitely not a piece of cake 🍰 to draw ✍️ Yes, we in Marie-Antoinette’s era.

I did a deep dive into Rococo style, an ornate 18th-century artistic movement that originated in Paris, France 🇫🇷 

Defined by curving natural forms, soft pastel colors, and playful, light-hearted themes.

Waldemar Januszczak is a good person to consult on the subject of Rococo.

At this point I decided the original green wooden bench would not do 👎

Better something more scrolly…

Ta da! 🎉 When some parts of a picture aren’t working, forgetaboutit and move on to something else 👍 

Then I went looking for a good 18th century gent. What if he was playing the mandolin 🎵 

I ended up with this rather mundane chap.

One mustn’t over-complicate things.

Time to put the various elements together 

Next step - the colored 🎨 sketch ✍️ 

I saw this Fragonard painting 🖼️ and loved the lap dog 🐶 

It turns out Marie has a Maltese named, Rose 🌹 

What a long shaggy dog story!

🎉 The Final Ta Da 🎉 

A side note..this morning I went to NIWA, a boulangerie with Rococo decor at 56, rue Vaneau.

Their croissants 🥐 are very crunchy 👍  

To boot, there is an exhibition on at Musee des Arts Decoratifs - A DAY IN THE 18th CENTURY.