E Komo Mai! Welcome to my blog.

I'm delighted that you dropped in! E Komo Mai: WELCOME! This blog is basically an online visual journal is modeled after a concept I learned of in psychology 101... waaaaaaay back in college. That concept was somewhere in the chapter on The Significance of Dreams, where it mentioned someone's theory on dreaming about a house usually means that the house represents you. So I have used my actual house (Mauna Lea Manor) to structure my blog. In different rooms you will find different aspects of my life; different interests I like to blog about. This is a way to bring a little organization into my life and thoughts for myself... (dreams are in The Bedroom, Family updates are in The Living room, etc.)
This also, I would imagine, make reading this blog more convenient for you as well. If you are a grandparent interested in seeing photos and hearing stories about my boys, but maybe not so interested in my bellydancing obsession: you can just read what goes on in The Playground. But if you are an Art Collector more interested in my latest work and information on collecting, but not especially interested in my personal life: you'd enjoy The Office. Mauna Lea Manor is sort of the foyer to all the other rooms. If you would like to tour my online portfolio, please visit: www.stephaniebolton.com.
I hope you enjoy your time here ;) & continue to stop by!



Thursday, June 24, 2010

What I have to work with...

I thought some of you might like to see the starting point.
When I am doing a portrait I like to collect a few angles of the person by either scheduling a photoshoot with them or having them supply photographs of themselves that they already like.
I prefer working from my own photography because I can attempt to get the shots I already have sitting in my imagination for the painting but often I am painting people who live at great distances from me and that is not possible.

I am fortunate that Tamalyn was able to supply me with the work of two sensational professional photographers to work from.
Below are two shots by Lauren Scotten.


The firey color of this dress is really attractive to me. And the detail in the embroidery of the headscarf seem like something that would interesting to work with.
Profiles can be a dangerous thing to work with as a portrait artist- you would be surprised how many people are incredibly insecure about their profiles.

Lauren Scotten has several portfolios of her work on her website where can see photos of dancers, architecture, and beautiful vistas.


Below is the work of Denise Marino.
You might recognize her unforgettable eyes from Tamalyn's instructional book:

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. , and raised in Latin America, Denise J. Marino opened her vision to many different cultures at an early age. With her camera, she started capturing colorful images from all over the world. Her collection of photographic images includes documentation of social functions, theatrical performances, portraits, photo journalism , artistic images, etc. She has won many awards and been extensively published in various magazines, including Geomundo & Donde magazines. With the emergence of digital photography, her first two experiences were photographing Japan and Cuba. She is currently dedicating her talent to one of the most sensual & vibrant forms of art: Belly Dancing! Her passion for that art has led her to experience the dance itself and find out that every part of the body is a work of art!
In collaboration with Tamalyn Dallal and the Mid Eastern Dance Exchange, she created Miami Beach's first photo exhibit dedicated solely to the art of belly dance, as part of the multi media presentation of film, dance & photography titled "Supplemented Silence".

See how she was able to capture such motion & sparkle?!
I love the delicate positioning of the hands.


So here are the photos I will be referencing for my painting!
I'll be posting some of my actual progress on the painting later ;)

I want to remind you that Tamalyn will not be choosing a winner for our game until
Saturday 26th, 2010
So if you haven't already... leave a comment answering the question:

How can belly dance change the world?

No comments: