I came across this exceptionally lovely Princess of South Africa doll: an elegant head sculpt, hair, and skin color.

 

 

I believe this doll's face is the original Mattel Nichelle head sculpt which drew me in to the world of Mattel's fashion dolls, the first one of which became Luisa Luna.  Some of her story, Luisa's story, is here: How I Overcame a Lifelong Antipathy Toward Barbie, the Doll...  I fell in love with the face, for good reason. Before this head sculpt, the first AA dolls were the standard Barbie made with a dark vinyl, even more objectionable than standard Barbie. Some others followed.  This sculpt, which I think is the original Nichelle sculpt, is extra beautiful for its African features, not only the skin color, and the features are beautifully put together.  The sculpt lends itself to a number of different face-ups. (Luisa herself has a number of body doubles for different activities and wardrobe).  

I dressed one up in a white linen Weekend in Paris (?) suit and she was out of this world. 

The face-up on this one is exceptional, down to red-rimmed eyes from sun exposure.  It's no wonder I Saw It, Wanted It, Had a Fit, Bought It?

100 Views

Looking up my friend Barbara Thomason again, I came across the surprising and wonderful news that she had a book of her paintings out.  I immediately set out to order copies and am delighted with the quality of the book first of all (having been sorely disappointed on the last art book of an LA artist I bought).  I am still so excited that I forgot what I was going to write, having written it here and there on posts ....
 

Hermosa Beach Art Walk -- Summer 2015

I give myself $60 - $100 to spend on art at Fiesta Hermosa and the Art Walk (Art Festival or Fair now -- original prints, for example.  This year I have been in the clouds over two pieces that I just had to have and which put me overbudget -- or spent my budget for this year,  buying two separate pieces I had to have.
The first, by Robert Brugger, is this "corner view" or "small view," a sort of intimate view of older buildings that I have found myself recording and noticed that my painter friend Don DeLew in Long Beach had started doing.
On the Saturday, I bought this little view of an old house tucked away in Redondo Beach around Robinson and Greene somewhere.

After that, I found this:

an oil pastel of a riptide that I had to have, so I thought about it all night and went back for it the next day.  The shape of the rip and the laciness of the sea foam and the varieties of the waves competing over that rip spot pulled me right in (no pun intended).  Then, on top of it all -- remember, I painted the ocean surface in the same spot at Marine Stadium for over a year and had ample time to find out about the short medium and long light rays in the water (red, yellow, blue), and this one has the perfect red, yellow..yellow-green...green...blue-green...blue of the light rays in/on the water and this one has it all.  In other words, I really appreciate it.

I need to decipher the signature again.   This oil pastel was done by a lovely young woman who has a beautiful body of work along this theme in oil pastel.

Both of the pieces I bought in the 2015 Art Walk have similarities to work I do, and/so/yet I had to have them.  They were both within my budget (for two Art Fairs). 

Taking those two and my budget as models, I set out to do some "quick landscapes" with an eye to selling small ones like these in a similar price range.  That was a good idea in terms of the little painting series I turned out; however, they took me as long as any paintings I do: two weeks each, so that idea is out.

An Oven for Christmas

Christmas morning my girls got a wonderful surprise. I found it at the Antique Barn sidewalk sale during Fiesta Hermosa Labor Day this year.  It is a very early electric oven for dolls: the cord is frayed.  It is the cloth style from appliances of the 1930s.
Delilah Noir, in a mix of two of her outfits (pictured in an earlier post) and Gabby Field, also featured in an earlier post, are enjoying Christmas morning 2015 here.

....and the oh so lovely Delilah Noir, here a vampire Delilah who comes with two entire sets of clothing -- a day and a night outfit -- black dress and all with pink pjs as well as a pink sweater and earflap hat.

This is a company file photo -- and it still doesn't show all the great items that come with the doll: this is one doll with interchangeable eyes and wigs.

Gabby Fields: Doug James' new generation 1:4 scale Fashion Dolls -- the 21st century nieces of Willow and Daisy

An irresistably, astonishingly attractive and lively doll 

by Doug James: (CED Dolls)

This is Gabby,

the niece of one of the two Doug James & Laura Meisner mod girls from London, Willow Somers and Daisy Field, early 1/4 scale adult fashion dolls, whose dads owned Somers & Field.... The two nieces, Violette and Gabby, are trendy girls(as are/were their aunts in 1960s London), fully articulated, and fun to pose. The clothes for both the earlier generation dolls and these are spectacular in design and workmanship, beautifully packaged and generous in clothing and accessories.
About these dolls