Artist Get Down

As the house photographer for the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art and Design, I'm able to make portraits of some truly incredible artists. Since I've been shooting there for a year and a half, I've developed relationships with some of the emerging artists affiliated with the institution. Among them is the manic genius Gabriel Mellan, a kinetic sculptor and photographer who is also an incredible character - it's always completely brilliant to see and catch up with him since he has such a strong visual identity. 

Here are some portraits I took of Gabriel at Pinkline Project's Cherry Blast party last month; he arrived wearing roller skates with a drink in hand and madness ensued. An yes, he's wearing a laundry bag as a shirt.

Have a great Thursday!

Going Gatsby

The Shoot

I'm happy to present a brief editorial test shoot Shannon Cusello and I did two weeks ago. Armed with looks I'd styled for a Great Gatsby event and Shannon's killer hair and makeup skills, we turned two hours on a Sunday afternoon into a Gatsby dream. More photos are on the scrolling gallery below, and you can read on for the details about the wild party that inspired the shoot, including my entertainment news anchor debut.  Cheers!

The Party

I was recently invited by the charming gentlemen of Greg's List and What Do I Wear to their Great Gatsby penthouse party overlooking the White House. With instructions to channel Jordan from the classic novel and a date who loves to get dressed up, I knew I had to serve some serious 1920's style. To get all glammed up, I pulled a swoon-worthy gown and headpiece from BCBG Friendship Heights and then dove into extensive research about historically accurate hair and makeup - not an easy feat! The dress moved beautifully and the headpiece was such a statement that I knew I had to learn some styling tricks to do them justice!

To mimic the pin curls of the 20's, I curled 1/2" sections of my hair around a 1/2" iron before brushing them out into finger waves and arranging them with my headpiece. 

1920's makeup was all about dramatic eyes, with color and saturation concentrated at the front corner of the eye instead of the outside as we do now. Combined with the techniques to conceal the brow or draw on a downward sloping replacement and add a petite, bow-shaped mouth, the look was meant to portray women as doe-eyed damsels in distress. Not what I'm used to doing, but fun to learn about and execute nonetheless! By changing the shape of my brows and lips, I was amazed how dramatically different I appeared; some of the party guests didn't recognize me, so I knew it was working. ;)

It paid off - the charming painter Martin Swift (clad in a vintage three-piece suit) and I were thrilled to be named best dressed by the publicist of the Great Gatsby movie, and I was asked to be the CW broadcast hostess for the evening. I've never done anything like that before, and had a blast interviewing a few of the movers and shakers at the event! Of course, I talked too fast and got over-excited, as usual. Luckily, one of the event photographers snapped me with my mic - hilarious! It was a fun way to wrap up a great evening.

After all the research, I was happy to be able to take the dress for another spin for my shoot with Shannon. I hope you enjoy! 

Many thanks to BCBG Friendship Heights, Greg's List, What Do I Wear, and Shannon Cusello (as usual, completely and utterly fabulous).