Duo Do-Over

Mes amies, for those stopping in for Friday's tutorial from the monthly Artist in Residence, I'm sorry to disappoint you. All you've got is moi this month. But I've already seen some of the projects that Connie is working on for you in June and you're gonna love 'em!

In the meantime, we've been dissecting why one of my favorite images goes unnoticed: a mother and daughter in an endearing embrace. Check out yesterday's post to see the before and after.

Now the metamorphosis continues. A comment posted by Nancy, FrenchKissed reader and artist extraordinaire, jump-started my brain cells. Nancy made the point that the lavish Art Nouveau frame may be what turns folks off. Both are lovely, but as Nancy said, they are out of balance. That led me to envisioning the scan without the frame. Now, the dark boding background didn't seem right. One thing led to another and .... brains cells struggling somewhere between epiphany and hot flash when it struck me exactly whose art style this illustration resembles: Mary Engelbreit! You might think this postcard is a Mary Engelbreit design but guess again! This is an Art Deco postcard from the 1920s designed by an Italian named Aurelio Bertiglia. Bertiglia was infamous for 'stealing' other folks' art, like Disney's Mickey Mouse you see here. But when I first discovered his art, I couldn't help but wonder if Ms. Engelbreit hadn't 'borrowed' from him or surely been influenced by him.
This morning it was my turn to be inspired by Engelbreit and drawing on her style, I spent about three hours 'playing' in Photoshop and giving my mother and daughter duo a do-over. The scalloped frame is from an 1897 greeting card I have -- you'll be seeing more of that later...:) Whaddya think? It's a whole new look. May your weekend be filled with artistic discoveries too!