New Elizabethans

Micheal Hussar
http://www.collater.al/en/michael-hussar/

Whilst looking through my Instagram feed i came across an artist called Michael Hussar, an  American painter from Southern California. He was trained at the Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena. His images are dark in a sense that they are slightly twisted, and in my opinion have strong references to the devil with many of the women looking like they have horns on there head, also the repeated use of red which can symbolise danger and is strongly referred to when looking at devil. This aside, i can clearly see heavy referencing to the Elizabethan period, as many of the women are seen with ruffs around there necks, big hair sometimes with curls around the back and front of the hair, a typical Elizabethan style, and most importantly a pale face, rosy cheeks, high foreheads and red lips. 

I like these images as i like the twist on the traditional look, in particular this image. I like the idea of the face being made up in black and white and then having the pungent red lips, drawing your attention there, but in this image the dripping of the blood makes me think of blood. This reminds me of Queen Elizabeth as it not only has a similar style to her, but also reminds me of her long and powerful reign.

In this image the red reminds me of just how powerful Queen Elizabeth was, her head is lifted, showing her nobility by keep her head up, having people to look up at her and she to look down at others. However, although her head is lifted it is also slightly tilted, it almost looks like the subject in this painting is having a hard time having to keep her head up, and also looking at the eyes, looks as though she is sleepy, one eye is literally rolling in a different direct then the other, showing exhaustion. This to me reflects on the many struggles Elizabeth had to face on her time on the thrown, as she had many difficult and challenging decisions to make, these differing from having to marry to defeating the Spanish Armada. 

The thing i like most about this image is that it's not perfect, the women whom is the subject of the painting looks dishevelled and this to me reflects on Queen Elizabeth, behind the mask that was she was a strong independent woman, she was worn, as any human being is let alone having to run a country.

When thinking about my final idea for my new Elizabethans look, i feel i defiantly want to keep the colour scheme of a pale completion and berry coloured lips, but i want it to be slightly disorientated and break out of the perfect look that was so classically expected of Elizabeth, and look at what the reality would be like behind closed doors.