Start with Art Archives - Page 16 of 61

Six Paintings – Twelve Months January 2025 Part 1

January 1, 2025

Happy New Year! We've got new paintings, new heroines, and new wardrobes to build - what fun!

This year, I'm going to try to start all of our heroines with basics, and so I've dredged out the Weekly Timeless Wardrobe list for reference. I'm not sure that I'm going to keep using it for the entire year, but as a guide in the early days of a wardrobe, it may be helpful.

Let's jump in and start with some Georgia O'Keeffe. I think I've used one of her paintings almost every year - she's just THAT good...

I could have broken out a number of shades of blue and green for this color wheel, but I wanted to think of these colors as all being closely related, on a spectrum. We shall see how that works!

Our heroine ... View the Post

Last-Minute Packing? Start With Art – The Annunciation by Jay DeFeo

December 27, 2024

When the phone rang, she knew...

"We need you to come in for the weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. We need coverage for the full twelve hours each night..."

At least she doesn't need to wear a uniform, but that almost makes it harder, at the very last minute!

Deep breath, remember what's important...

And then figure out what's clean!

She channels one of her favorite paintings, and decides that she's going to just wear neutrals. Keep it simple, low-key, and focus on her support role...

She won't really have to go outside - they've got a spare room for her in the facility. Although she will almost certainly take a few minutes to walk outside, every now and then...

She packs a ... View the Post

Merry Christmas! Six New Painting for Us to Enjoy in 2025

December 25, 2024

Happy Christmas to all who observe today, and a happy and joyful day to everybody!

So after wrangling, pondering, occasional hair-pulling, and a lot of general angst, I chose the six paintings for next year. This is - no question - the hardest thing I EVER do for The Vivienne Files, so if your favorite painting wasn't chosen, don't doubt that it was considered, and re-considered, and finally eliminated with great pain.

If there's anything you particularly miss, let me know and I will do a post about it! That's the least I can do, eh?

With no further ado - let's go!

This is the second year in a row that I've included Elizabeth Magill - I think she's got magical talent...

This heroine is going to ... View the Post

Festive? Start with Art – The Saints Genevieve and Apollonia by Lucas Cranach the Elder

December 11, 2024

I'm leaving for Paris this afternoon - and so is today's heroine!

Remember this most elegant woman - of the upswept and braided white hair, the immaculate red manicure, the lush jewel-toned accents in her black and white wardrobe?

We first met her when she was a university guest lecturer;...

In January 2018, she took a group of students to the Cloisters;

In August 2019, she was in Paris to help with reconstructing Notre Dame;

In December 2019, she was off to Venice;

She assembled a "work from home" wardrobe in May 2020;

which she accessorized in May 2020;

and we visited her in November of 2021, when she went to Dublin;

Oh my! I knew I loved this woman, but I never ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – 6th Painting, by John Nash

December 9, 2024

I'm leaving for Paris on Wednesday unless something happens to hold me back. I haven't been to Paris in five years, which for me feels like half my life... I plan to have posts here for you while I'm away, but bear in mind that I won't be able to fix stupid mistakes - or smart mistakes! Love, J

Our last installment of our last heroine, assembling a wardrobe that holds a strange appeal to me - the soft earthiness of these colors would be such a comfort each morning...

This heroine, as is true with all of them, currently has 48 garments in her wardrobe. For most of the world, that's an embarrassment of riches! And - if well chosen - most of us could probably manage with this:

Of course, I SHOULD have been ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – 5th Painting, by Maurice Denis

December 5, 2024

I love this painting - I think I need to look at some other works by him!

As with all of our heroines, this lover of muted colors already has a pretty complete wardrobe. 48 garments should give just about anybody PLENTY of outfits, don't you imagine?

Her jewelry is great - and her scarves too! She's had quite a lot of luck this year finding things that suit her:

Her bags and shoes are great too...

After last month's plunge into holiday attire, our heroine thinks she wants one more "festive" top. She finds something that will be perfect with her velvet pants but can also be dressed down. The rest of her shopping allotment consists of three garments that can be worn together for a warm and soft ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – 4th Painting, by Paul Klee

December 5, 2024

If you don't want to wear red for the holidays, our next heroine is right there with you! But she has ivory and green in her palette, so she's still going to feel appropriate...

As with all of our heroines, this one has a lot of clothes already - including a simple green dress that could get a lot of mileage during the holidays...

She also has a really nice green cardigan, that will give a holiday feel to ivory and beige things...

Heck, she could even wear a green hoodie for outdoor things like caroling...

She has amazing jewelry, and some really perfect scarves for her color palette. Maybe she's looking for something with a holiday theme?

Her shoes and bags also feel pretty ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Third Painting, by Mark Rothko

December 4, 2024

Still a favorite - maybe because it's based on black, or maybe because I find Rothko paintings fascinating. Seeing them on a screen does NOT do them justice; they are layered, and shaded in a way that no computer can replicate!

Coming into the shopping frenzy that is December, our heroine has a pretty well-stocked wardrobe. When we arrange a number of clusters, or outfits, or just dresses (which of course don't need anything else), we find that there are few things for which she would not be well-dressed:

Even after we pulled out all of the things above to show how many outfits she has, she STILL has a bunch of garments:

She also has what is (to my taste!) an enviable collection of jewelry and ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – Second Painting, by Elizabeth Magill

December 3, 2024

Let's move on to our next heroine, who has committed her wardrobe to navy and white, with a few shades of blue...

She was inspired by this, and one can well understand!

Her existing wardrobe, at the end of November, is pretty complete. Let's look at it, spread out a bit, and arranged in some outfits:

After all of those outfits, she still has nine more tops, and a dress! As I said before, this might be enough for some people...

Her accessories are perfect for her:

After some deep thinking, our heroine has two goals this month:

She wants to expand her denim/chambray adventure, (she's going to buy a second chambray shirt, for a very specific reason; those of us who own these shirts can ... View the Post

December 2024 “Six Paintings, Twelve Months” – First Painting, by Georgia O’Keeffe

December 2, 2024

Our last visit with our six heroines! First, let's take a last look at our heroine who wears a stunning amount of red. Her art inspiration is from Georgia O'Keeffe; any painting by her has the potential to spark the ideas for a great wardrobe. Her lines are simple, her colors few, but stunning...

Before this powerhouse of PR and communications goes shopping, let's look at her existing wardrobe, in a slightly different way.

She has plenty of outfits already; when you look at your own wardrobe, outfit by outfit, you might find that you already have most of what you need...

A dozen outfits, and still seventeen more garments. For many people, this would be sufficient; for others...

She also takes ... View the Post

Packing For the Holidays by Starting With Art – Canyon Country by Georgia O’Keeffe

November 29, 2024

Not your usual "holiday colors," but how many of us really want to wear a ton of red and green? (I know at least one of you is absolutely delighted to wear red and green...)

When you look critically at the painting to isolate the colors, it looks more promising!

Okay, we're going to take that really yellowish patch and focus on the camel edge! If we revisited this wardrobe for warmer weather, we might go full-tilt into a bunch of yellow...

A key to this wardrobe looking festive is the accessories - but isn't that often the case, that you achieve the desired effect by adding just one or two little touches?

Our heroine is packing "outfit by outfit," and then we'll re-evaluate what she has, and see ... View the Post

Feeling Bright? Start With a Scarf – the Dorothy Lichtenstein scarf from Echo

November 11, 2024

She's ready for a holiday weekend, but this is NOT the woman who's going to wear red and green, or a wreath or Christmas tree...

Which is great! You need to know what you do and don't like, by the time you're fully grown. Well, I believe this; your mileage may vary.

This is her inspiration, and it's a goodie:

This is her color palette; maybe she's stretching a point to include the bright blue, but she's got this sweater...

It's cold. It's dry. She's wearing white pants! If you want to stand out in a crowd in the dead of winter, this will do it...

She knows for a fact that she's probably going to want to wear a skirt. She might wear it with a sweatshirt, though...

And a blazer is never a bad ... View the Post