There is Humor with Mice in Edwardian Fashion

I am a HUGE fan of the PBS series "Downton Abbey", so I can't wait until the new movie comes out in September 2019. Hopefully it will live up to my expectations and not disappoint. 

The series had been showing several years when I finally decided I needed to watch it.   I actually made the leap to upgrade my Amazon to a Prime Membership so that I could watch it.  It was well worth the $100 cost for me and of course I like the other Prime perks too. 

There is something intriguing about the formalities of and properness of British society.  I recall the episode where there was much discussion about wearing the black tie rather than the white tie to dinner.  "Indeed, one of the most tragic events of Season 3, Episode 1 (hour 2) was the hullabaloo over Lord Grantham’s black tie dinner jacket (aka tuxedo). His Lordship’s white tie dinner jacket went “missing,” “missing” as in hidden by his trusted, yet devilishly conniving valet (personal butler).  Lord Grantham is forced to look like a pauper at dinner and wear a black bow tie.  Ghastly informal – the Dowager Countess, his mother, actually mistakes him for a butler." (http://www.dirtyandthirty.com/beauty-fashion/lessons-learned-from-downton-abbey-white-tie-vs-black-tie/)

"Black Tie Event"

It was this episode that inspired my drawing called "Black Tie Event" and to have the matching black tails this industries little rodent uses a jar of black ink to dip the tip of his tail into.


Oh and don't even get me started on the hats and dresses.  Can you just imagine not being about to get yourself dressed without the assistance of a butler or servant?  What a different time that was but the whole of the Crawley clan seemed to have their own personal assistant that was there to curl their hair or help put on their jacket. 



It was this photo of the hat worn by Mary Crawley on the show that inspired me to create my own sketch of a little mouse wearing an Edwardian hat and feather boa in my drawing that I called "M'lady".  

"M'lady"

With a little Photoshop magic I have taken the two separate pieces and combined them into one composition that I'm calling "The Mice of Downton Abbey"  I then added a vintage postcard background and now you have my newest listing on my Etsy and EBay Shops.  Here is the link if you are interested in purchasing a print.  I also have greeting cards and magnets available too.  Julie Townsend Studio on Etsy

"The Mice of Downton Abbey"

Mockup

Mockup

Greeting Card Mockup

I Might Be What You Call Obsessed With Downton Abbey

This past week I have found that my easel has been neglected but my sketchpad has taken much of my attention.  I had come with this little idea of a mouse dressed to the nines with a top hat and black bow tie.  Actually, I have been watching the Downton Abbey series and was struck with the wonderful costumes that each of the characters wear and how formal and proper the upper class were during that era in time.  It is hard to fathom individuals who actually needed assistance daily just to put on a jacket or to brush their own hair.

Make Everyday a Black Tie and Tails Day

I find myself thinking often about the show and so I thought I would create my own Downton Abby scene using cute little mice.  I drew this piece first and I'm calling it "Make Everyday a Black Tie and Tails Day".  I was so pleased with the outcome that I knew this handsome little guy needed an equally classy gal by his side so yesterday I started my 2nd drawing.

Milady

When it came to drawing my little girl mouse, I actually spent sometime looking at images of the beautiful Lady Mary Crawley and derived my inspiration for her hat from those images.  Long silk gloves, a blue feather boa and a tube of bright red lipstick finish off the piece that is titled "Milady".

The Happy Couple

Now the challenge to me is to learn enough Photoshop that I can take the elements of both pieces and combine them into one piece.


Since Photoshop isn't mastered overnight and I just had to come up with another piece that featured two overdressed rodents I took matters into my own artistic hands.  This time I drew a large 8 x 10 piece that includes a bride and the groom along with a festive cake.  I decided to leave the heart blank in the center of the cake so that I could personalize it with the monogrammed initials of the happy couple.  I actually have both a bridal shower and a 50th anniversary gift to purchase this week and so I plan on putting this piece of art to personal use right away.






I just uploaded these images and so if your interested in prints, art cards or art magnets you can check them out on my Website or on my Etsy Store.  If you are interested in a personalized print or card of the "The Happy Couple", just send me a message and I will be happy to work that out for you.

Enjoying the Classics

I thought I would end with one last Mouse sketch that I have recently done.  This one features a hungry little guy enjoying a piece of John Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men" in a way that most book lovers would be horrified at but I thought it made a cute composition.

Make Everyday a Black Tie and Tails Day

My husband and I have been enjoying the PBS show, Downton Abbey.  We have tried to watch one or two episodes each day while eating our dinner.  Last night we started watching season 5.

Never in my life have I experience watching a TV show from the first episode all the way to the end of the show.  I would always hear people talk about their "Show" is on tonight but I have never watched TV like that.  I've always been a hit and miss kind of viewer.  Never really having a favorite show or even knowing the time or date a specific show was airing but Netflix has changed all that.

Like so many other households,  3 years ago we canned our cable TV subscription and joined Netflix. Maybe a year ago I got involved in the show "Lost" and I was hooked.  Now we have watched every episode of NCIS, Longmire and Sherlock.  I find the experience much like reading a good novel.  I find myself getting involved with the characters and caught up in the story line.  I had watched lots of episodes of NCIS but now, having watched them in sequence, everything makes much greater sense because you know the history.  

I knew I would love Downton Abbey seeing as how I am completely in love with anything Jane Austin.  The only problem I faced was that Downton Abbey isn't on Netflix so I had to pay for a subscription to Amazon Prime to start watching the show.  So far I'm happy with that decision and since many of my art and business supplies are purchased on Amazon it makes the $100 expense a bit easier to deal with.

My Little "Downton Abbey" Mouse Sketch

I suppose I had better get this blog back on track since my focus isn't on critiquing TV shows but talking about my artwork.  The whole Downton Abbey influence is evident, at least to me, in my most recent sketch that I'm calling "Make Everyday a Black Tie and Tails Day".  I was thinking the other day about how the Crawley family often dress so formally just to eat dinner.  Their chauffeur turned son-in-law Tom complained about having to wear a tuxedo to dinner each night.  They put such stock in whether to wear their black or white bow tie.

So my little "Downton Abbey" mouse here is getting all dressed up for a special evening.  His top hat and bow tie are ready and he has just dipped his tail into the jar of black India ink to finish off his formal attire.  He was so much fun to draw yesterday.  I had a number of people watching me at McDonalds in the morning as I started working on the pen and ink work there.  I already have plans on starting a sketch of his date and perhaps I will let the influence of the beautiful "Lady Mary" help me with that one.

The original 5 x 7 matted sketch along with prints, art greeting cards and 4 x 6 art magnets are available in both my Etsy store or on my website