Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

 If your December has been anything like my December, it's been super busy! Two birthdays, a quick trip to Boston with Jenny Taliadoros to see Ralph Hodgden, a winter concert at the school, multiple visits to the one of the boys' schools (for good things!), several doctor's appointments, and family festivities...It's been a lot! I love being busy with the kids and I know those days are numbered, but I'm looking forward to some downtime, for sure. 

This year's holiday card comes from my ongoing Emma McKay project. I started thinking about what Betsy McCall or Dolly Dingle or other "every girl" kinds of paper dolls might be like today. I took that idea and turned it into a calendar. You can grab the calendar here.

Right-click on the image to save it at full resolution. 

Happy Holidays to you & yours, whatever you celebrate. And here's hoping the blog will be a bit more active next year!

Vintage Halloween Flapper - Page 5

Happy Halloween! 

Today's outfit is a whimsical witch inspired by several sources.

Click on the image for full-size, then right-click to download

There is just SO MUCH excellent source material for a flapper/Art Deco/20s & 30s Halloween paper doll! In some cases, I combined various elements.

For my witch, I loved the idea of this swoopy neckline and shoulder bows. I also really like the idea of a lime green accent and I borrowed both ideas from this vintage decoration.

I also really loved the idea of a huge, elaborate dress like the decoration above. Linear accents popped up a lot, too, and I liked the idea of a spooky vintage cat running along the dress. And finally, I wanted a witch costume that wasn't all black so I went with rich lime, orange, and purple with the yellow stars.

 

For anyone who doesn't know this about me, Halloween is A BIG DEAL around my house. We all love it! In 2019, I started putting up a Christmas tree decorated for Halloween. Even before the pandemic, we were a bit more house-bound than I would have liked. I started putting this tree up as a silly way to cheer up the house for the kids and they loved it! So it's been 5 years and apparently it's trendy now! We still all love it.

Much like last year, my oldest is passing out candy at home. It's a task he's always enjoyed. Trick-or-treating was never his favorite thing and he was happy to give it up. My youngest, however, fully embraces the idea of running around after dark in search of candy while dressed in an absurd costume! This year, he's an inflatable Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the Ghostbuster movies.

It's ridiculous and hilarious and awesome. We'll see how long he can walk in this get-up! Whatever you and yours do for Halloween, I hope it's a sugar-laden festival of fun and just a tiny bit frightful! And I hope you've enjoyed following along with my flapper!

Vintage Halloween Flapper - Page 4

 Fall is the absolute best time in New England. Well, most years anyway! This year has been too hot and too chaotic. We've been plagued with illness & unexpected medical issues since September! We're all fine and none of it is huge in the grand scheme of things. It's just been a lot.

Click on the image for full resolution and right-click to download and save

I don't really have a reference for today's pretty pirate. It's a bit of a mix of pirate costumes and gypsy costumes. The idea of a "Gypsy" is a bit outdated for me so I took the elements I liked, such as the hip scarf and coin-beaded vest, and added them to a pirate instead. The dress is a bit flapper-ish and she's armed for adventure with her little wooden sword.

Next week is the last week of this little series! I hope everyone is enjoying it as much as I am!

Vintage Halloween Flapper - Page 3

 In my research for this project, I came across all kinds of wacky and wonderful costumes/fancy dress. Some were understated. Some were over-the-top! I came across a lot of pumpkins, cats, historical figures, whimsical flowers, and more. And spiders. Lots of spiders. 

Click on the image for full resolution, right-click to download and save

There were so many spider costumes! I sort of blended a few together to get this sparkling set. 

This image was my main inspiration. I simplified the headpiece a bit. I really wanted it to shine so the webbing got the glitter treatment. The web and spiders sparkle while the dress is meant to be a sort of velvet material. 

There are two more weeks to go! Do you have a costume picked out? One of my sons is ALL IN on Halloween. One prefers quietly passing out candy at home. Me? It's my favorite holiday of the year! Come back next week for another page in the set!

Vintage Halloween Flapper - Page 2

 I hope everyone is having a great October! We spent the weekend apple picking with the kids and my parents, as well as celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary! It was a lovely weekend! 

Click on the image for full size, right-click to download and save

I have come across some wonderful vintage Halloween ideas in my research! Adding crepe paper to pre-existing clothing was a common way of creating a costume. I'm not sure exactly how that worked but I came across an ad for these crepe costumes and just LOVED it! 

I briefly thought about a limited color scheme for the whole Halloween set, but as I colored I realized I just didn't like that. With this, I added a bright green with some hints of pink to create a vintage inspired cat sort of like this one:

I didn't like the hat in my reference image and created a floppy hat instead. Stay tuned for more downloads every Thursday for the rest of October!

Happy Halloween with a Vintage Flapper - Page 1

Surprise! I have a short series of Halloween paper dolls for the month of October. I decided to post on Thursdays for the month since Halloween is on a Thursday. Just makes for a nice, even distribution.

Click to enlarge, right-click to download and save

 

I don't know about anyone else, but my September was just a mess! The kids went back to school and immediately got sick. My youngest son brought home a cold that left me with a horrendous cough for more than two weeks. And then the poor kiddo had minor but emergency surgery. He's fine but it was a crazy month....

This might look familiar to anyone who attended the recent Paperdoll Convention. I gave a workshop called "Fashioning a Flapper" where we used pre-cut papers to design fanciful flapper dresses for this doll. It was a lot of fun, especially for my first-ever workshop. 

I really liked this doll and just didn't feel like I was finished with her. I also knew that I wanted to get back into the habit of posting here more regularly. So I decided to color her in and see where it went. As I was coloring it, I came across vintage 1920s and 30s Halloween costumes and decoration books. 

 

 

With these and others as my inspiration, I started putting together a lovely paper doll! Today's page has the doll and a daytime outfit. The rest of the month will be Halloween costumes. I'm hoping to tinker around with this and turn it into a book at some point. For now, enjoy a download every Thursday for the month of October!

Home from a Busy August!

Summer is a super busy time for me most years, and this year was no exception! June was spent celebrating my 8th grade kiddo. He had tons of activities and loved every minute of it. July was a bit more laid back with a few appointments (two kids in braces), day trips, and trying to chill. August was bonkers! We typically have our family vacation in August. This year, the annual paper doll convention was also in August. I went from the convention straight into my family vacation...after seven hours waiting in a plane for take-off in a thunderstorm!! It was hectic and fun and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

It was such a great convention! Sharry & Micheal O'Hara and Beth & Kevin Wilkins put on SUCH a wonderful event. I was thrilled to make new friends, meets up with dear friends, and talk about the art form I love so much. 

Jenny & I shared a table at the convention, as usual. I brought a few new things (Timeless Beauty of the Teens is my newest), a few previous things (Sisters at Heart is very near & dear project), and my favorite thing - enamel pins! If you were at the convention and didn't get a pin, or you just think they're the coolest (like I do), let me know. I have a few left that I'll be selling at the Morgantown party in May.

Because I knew my trip would be hectic, I chose to travel carry-on only. That proved to be a very wise descicion! I couldn't shop as much as I would have liked and Jenny graciously swooped in to get the rest of my things home, which just makes for an excellent reason to see Jenny! Here are a few things I just had to have from the convention:

In the back row, vintage things. In the front, current things. Starting at the back left, Casual Co from 1972, Suzanne's WOW Wardrobe from 1967/1973, a lovely Hilda Miloche, one of two Star Wars Queen Amidala books, and a Heart Family book from the mid-80s. In the front row, a wonderful illustration of a Balmain gown by Gregg Nystrom, Spring Bonnets by Rachel Cohen (featured in Doll Castle News), and two from Valerie Keller - an Outlander set and her gorgeous Paisley Power. 

I'm not really a big collector. The Star Wars and Heart Family books are purely nostalgia. I have the other Star Wars paper doll and needed to add this one. The Heart Family book is something I very clearly remember playing with on my couch while dealing with chicken pox! Often, I'll add a book to my collection as reference. Maybe it has great dolls or a fantastic cover design, things like that. I want to take a minute to share why I grabbed the two from the 70s since they were before my time..

First up, Casual Co. 

I really like the design of this one. It reminds me of David Wolfe's fashion illustrations and other distinctly 70s art. The dolls are a bit goofy but the clothing is fantastic! And the overall design is very cool. This is one that I'm sure with stick in my brain while designing layouts! 

One of three dolls. Very elongated figures with slightly odd proportions...

...but the wardrobe! Tell me that butterfly jumpsuit isn't just THE coolest thing ever?! LOVE! 

The other book that jumped out at me was Suzanne's WOW Wardrobe. I like the odd format of some of the vintage books, especially the boxed sets. I also like the cut-out in the book where the doll peeks out a bit. 

The cover design is neat. There's a lot of interesting movement and contrast. It has a really dynamic late 60s/70s color palette.

The doll has a very lively, youthful pose. And I like the base outfit! The page design is good, too, with the pop of background color and the strong flower elements.

That pinstriped suit is very David Bowie! And the smock/mini dress in the top corner has a great color scheme and fun pattern.

Hello mod! That yellow & black set is just too great. I also really like the pink lace and the yellow & gingham set. All very young & fun.

That's it for now. There will likely be a part two once I get together with Jenny. I have some real treasures that I'll be sue to share!

 

Mermay, Digital Art, and Re-Learning How to Paint

I really, really wanted to jump into "Mermay" this year. I took out a sketchbook, and in about 15 minutes, I had a scribble I was happy with. And then it sat there. For WEEKS. May got away from me. The boys got me a set of gouache paints and I really wanted to paint this. That did not happen. It's been so long since I painted that I just didn't have the right paper. Undaunted, I popped it into Procreate and wrapped it all up this morning!

I follow a lot of creators online and many of them are digital artists with traditional art backgrounds. If you're over the age of 30, chances are pretty good that you learned how to create on paper! I know I did. The problem with digital art right now is AI. How can I prove this art is mine if the original is just a file on a device? And if I share it, it'll get scraped into the AI model. It's already happening. There are AI generated paper dolls floating around. They are neither good nor convincing but they're out there. Many of the creators I admire are getting back to paper, pencil, paint, etc, because handcraft is becoming more important than ever. I am absolutely not giving up on digital art - I love it! I love the freedom, ease of use, the ability to zoom and undo, and the clean crispness of it.

So on this last day of May, enjoy my only pink haired mermaid. I'm going to learn how to use those gouache paints and share that here even though I've been hesitant to share much.  Having my art stolen but individuals AND robots gets to be a bit much! If you want to see what I'm up to, feel free to follow me on Instagram - it's where I post my most current work, most of the time! 

Solar Eclipse Day Paper Doll!

 It's a big day for astronomy in the US! For the last few years, this solar eclipse has been on my radar (that's pretty punny...!). The path of totality is running right through northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, crossing through a lot of places where I've lived or visited. So it feels kind of personal! We decided not to seek out the path of totality. Even in northeastern Massachusetts, where I am, it'll be impressive if not total.

Continuing in my haphazard "random holidays" paper doll series, I made a solar eclipse paper doll.

If you click on the image, it will enlarge to full-size and you can save it for printing.

I was inspired by a sewing pattern cover design. I keep a file of poses and paper dolls that I like and this one has been in there for a while. I just couldn't figure out what to do with it. But then the idea of a solar eclipse paper doll popped into my brain after the Leap Day paper doll. 

 My inspiration

My sketch, which I tweaked in Photoshop

Once I decided on a pose and idea, I had to figure out how to illustrate it. How can I visually express the idea of "solar eclipse"? My jumping off point was stars and moons, so I gathered together some celestial graphics that I had on hand. As I was drawing the base outfit, I kept thinking this is a young woman popping out of her yoga class to view the eclipse. The wardrobe came from that tiny bit of character background!

I started with a sketch on paper, adjusted it some in Photoshop, and then sent it over to Procreate. I spent a looooong time working on the face. It was really frustrating. There's a playfulness and energy to the sketch that just wasn't translating in Procreate. But I kept at it. In the end, I'm happy with it.

If you take her along to your solar eclipse viewing, I'd love to see it! We all have our special glasses and plan on watching from our backyard. 

Grab a PDF for printing over at Paperdoll Review!

Happy Leap Day!

Every (rare) post seems to start with "Things have been really hectic here...." and they have been! My kids are keeping me busy, of course, there are some (scheduled) medical things for my parents, along with the natural rhythm of holidays and birthdays, etc, etc. 

Yesterday, though, I carved out some time to make a silly little thing.

The pose and doll were inspired by a late 1970s Skipper paper doll I found. I try to keep a collection of inspiration. I work best from reference and looking at dolls from the past helps. The clothing is all frog inspired. My youngest son LOVE the frog bucket hat. Speaking of... today was supposed to be his birthday. I went into labor on February 29th 12 years ago - and had my second son on the morning of March 1st! In a way, it's for the best. He's a very logical and ordered person, and I think a Leap Day birthday would be too much chaos for him to handle! 

Anyway, enjoy my silly little thing. I'm hoping to carve out time to post more. You can check out what I'm up to on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julieamatthews/ It's been a lot of kid stuff and REAL LIFE drawing.

Wrap-up 2023: Editing Books for Paperdoll Review

I am so incredibly lucky to do what I do. It is a labor of love every single day. Not just the drawing and painting part. I mean, that's excellent. But my favorite part, really, is bringing other artist's work out into the world. Sometimes that's some light editing with cover designs. Sometimes it's a bit more involved, like completing work for an artist who has passed. It's always something I do with reverence and respect. Today I want to highlight a few of the books I worked on with Jenny at Paperdoll Review. 

The Nutcracker Ballet by Deanna Williams

This is a lovely book, beautifully illustrated by Deanna Williams. The thing I loved most about this book was the cover design. Sometimes a cover just comes together. With this one, I wanted it to feel like a stage production. There's a lake image that acts like a stage with trees acting as scenery. I really wanted to lean into the winter theme but I didn't want a blue color scheme. Instead, I picked up on the pinks and purples that show up throughout the book while also thinking about the pretty pinks and purples of winter sunrises and sunsets. A snowflake border adds a bit of whimsy to the whole thing.

Girl of Mine by Sandra Vanderpool

For this book, I had the art to work with and not much else. I knew that it was based on a song so I started researching that. I thought it might be fun to add the lyrics to the pages along with floral clip art that was reminiscent of turn-of-the-century scrapbooks. Maybe this was someone's scrapbook of a time they saw this song performed. I also thought the song was rather charming so I included the sheet music on the back page. There's a short period of time after the first World War and the Roaring 20s/Great Depression that has a really lovely aesthetic and I tried to express that here through the colors, fonts, and florals.

Fun Frocks for Flo, Fanny & Fionna by Larry Bassin

I try not to have favorites. Truly. And I love all of the books I work on. But this one was just so special and so unique. When Larry Bassin creates a paper doll, the doll, clothing, and background are often all part of the composition. It's gorgeous but it can make formatting for a book a bit challenging. So what I did is I carefully extracted the dolls and art in Photoshop and rearranged them on pages. Using the comic book aesthetic as inspiration, I added blocks of color to the backgrounds and used a font with an early comic book vibe. Larry was thrilled with how it turned out. Jenny was very pleased. And I'm super happy to get this fantastic art out into the world. It's so colorful and fun and fabulous. There aren't enough words for how much I love this book. 

Deco Dollies by Alina Kolluri

This was another extra special project. I absolutely adore Alina's art and there's something about it that always just clicks with me. Her Monster Party book has one of my favorite cover designs ever and that came out in 2023, too. Deco Dollies was a book design that David Wolfe had worked on. He came up with the composition and concept of the covers and interiors but it was never completed. I took his ideas and worked on them in Adobe Illustrator in order the get the clean, bold lines and colors just right. I often bounce between Photoshop and Illustrator. There are some things that are just easier in a vector format. It was really nice to bring David and Alina's vision for the book all the way to publication. 

There are so many terrific books that came out in 2023 that it would be hard to mention all of them here. Norma Lu Meehan's Victorian Christmas is lovely. Tom Tierney's Women in History Volumes 1 & 2 were a typography challenge and I'm rather pleased with those covers, too. You can keep up with the most current news about Paperdoll Review on Facebook (including a 2024 convention!! YAY!!) and shop for all of these beautiful books at Paperdoll Review.    

Wrap-Up 2023: My Books and a Bonus Book

Sometimes I struggle with art block. It's easy to make other people's art look amazing. I get really excited about that! But sometimes I find myself blocked. Maybe I can't come up with an idea. Or I have an idea that I don't think I can pull off. Or I have part of an idea. Or, what happened a lot this year - I have an idea and can't find the time to pull it off! I lost part of January 2023 in the construction of my studio and I lost a good chunk of October through December. Realistically, I was most active between February and September. I had a hand in three books this year: Everything Eighties, Sisters at Heart, and Styles of the 1920s. 

Styles of the 1920s by Rachel Cohen, colors by Julie Allen Matthews

I want to start with Rachel's book, what I think of as my "bonus" book! I am so unbelievably happy to see this in print! Rachel is a dear friend and I've been an admirer of her blog & paper dolls for years. I love her detailed research and strong linework and she has an endless stream of creative topics. Rachel, Jenny, and I all agreed that I could take a crack at coloring Rachel's delightful drawings. It's not the first time I've colored Rachel's art. It's also not the first (or last) time that I've colored another artist's drawings. 

We were all really pleased with how it came together. I had an absolute blast coloring it. The covers were inspired by magazines of the 1920s and executed in Illustrator with simple shapes and lines. Rachel did a wonderful job of researching and drawing and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next! 

Before I move on to the two books I illustrated, I want to take a minute and talk about coloring line art. I've collaborated with several artists and artist estates where I have been asked to color or complete a project. It's humbling and I approach these projects with respect and reverence. I came across a social media post this year totally bashing one of these special projects. It was really hurtful and crushed my confidence. My style isn't for everyone. I get that. And no one has to like it. I believe strongly in constructive criticism and helping each other grow as artists. I could not imagine being that cruel to an artist myself. I continue to remind myself that social media is not real life and I will put more emphasis on those IRL interactions and less on the likes, clicks, and comments. We all should.

Anyway, on to happier projects! 

Everything Eighties, a totally rad paper doll book! 

This book started life as my 2022 holiday paper doll. I loved working on that and just could not stop thinking about it. I picked eight fashion fads from the 1980s and reinterpreted them in my own way. 

Some themes came together really easily. Some were a bit tougher. The cover design came together easily, and the interior borders did, too. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

Sisters at Heart, a paper doll book celebrating friendship

This book is so incredibly special! I started attending conventions and paper doll parties a few years ago. If you haven't been to any, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is SO much fun!! I have met so many delightful folks at these events. One of those is Sharry O'Hare. She is a walking ray of sunshine. She had seen a previous commission of mine and asked if I could put together a book of her and her dear friend Laura (who, incidentally, roped me into the real-life paper doll world and I will be forever grateful for it!!!). I don't take a lot of commissions for a variety of reasons. But this one felt like a really natural fit.

Sharry loved it. Laura loved it. Jenny loved it, too, and with everyone in agreement, we went to press with it at Paperdoll Review. It's the story of a real-life friendship, but it could also be the story of any dear friendship. Working on this was one of the highlights of my year. Sharry is one of the co-hosts of the next paper doll convention and, again, I totally recommend going! You can find out more here. 

I have a couple of book ideas in the works for 2024 already. And in my next post, I'll share some of my design highlights from Paperdoll Review.

Wrap-up 2023: Personal Projects

It's hard to believe it's 2024! Holidays with teens & tweens are a bit different than when the boys were little. Fun, but different. I had a very busy 2023 both personally and artistically. My new studio was completed in January and that was HUGE! I have a dedicated space just for me. I also fully transitioned from my Surface Pro 7 to an iPad Pro/Procreate and a shiny new desktop computer. It's exactly what I needed to improve my art.

One of my goals for 2023 was to draw more, especially on paper and from life. There's a local art group that gets together twice a month for clothed model & still-life open sessions. I started going in June and by August, my youngest son started going with me, too. It's been great practice! You can see some of my drawings on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/julieamatthews/). Social media still confounds me, so I don't post all that often.

I'm not great at goal setting. I'm much more task-oriented: what needs to get done and can I do it RIGHT NOW? This post and the next are the things I managed to get done, starting with personal projects. 

First up, I did a study of Fanny Gray (here and here).

While not my favorite project, it was a good way to practice "painting" in Procreate. It was also clear to me after this project that I needed to make observation & drawing more of a priority.

Sparkling Sixties was one of two full-page paper dolls of mine in Paperdoll Review. You can find it on the inside cover of issue 87. 

My other full-page paper doll for Paperdoll Review is my Morticia Addams in issue 88. This was an absolute passion project for me and you can read more about it here. SO much fun! 

At about the same time, I decided to draw a Halloween paper doll just for fun. I thought it would be one page. It isn't. It will likely become a book in 2024. 

I got a bit carried away with Octavia! I'm not sure if I'll keep the title/name, etc, when I turn this into a book. We shall see!!

I had one more submission to Paperdoll Review this year in issue 89, Timeless Sailor Suits. 

It's a total dud and I am not happy with it at all! It was bad timing - my mother had her second total knee replacement surgery in October and most of the last quarter of the year consisted of me helping her out with appointments, etc. I also got the WORST cold and drew this while sick. Definitely do not recommend drawing while sick.

As much as I disliked this little sailor, I had two more projects that were pretty great: my annual holiday card paper doll and a very special project.

My skater has some flaws. I found the face really challenging. There are some perspective issues, too, especially with the back foot. And one of the skirts looks a little too much like tentacles and too little like fabric... Not bad and I'm mostly happy with it. Room to grow! 

And finally, one of the most exciting things I did this year was enter the Edward Gorey House Annual Envelope Art Contest. Every year, the museum has a contest. This year, I found out about it just days before the deadline and put together an Edward Gorey paper doll for the Dressed to Kill theme. It's pen and white gel pen on a kraft paper 6x9 envelope and it was TOUGH! 

I was a finalist in the contest! It's really rare for me to enter contests but I was really into this one! I was sent an official certificate & tickets to visit the museum with my family in the spring. It was a really nice way to cap off my year. 

The next post will focus on the books I illustrated this year and after that, I'll share a little bit about the books I've worked on for Paperdoll Review.