Looking at Peggy Sue's blank face I wondered what on earth I had taken on... Me? Paint a face? Who was I kidding? The only faces I had painted were either on paper at school, many hundreds of years ago, or the two Hitty faces I had recently painted, and lets face it, Hitty Patience does have that startled, caught in the headlights look about her! The other, only marginally better is the boy of the Hitty family, Miles. So what was I doing thinking I could paint a face for my lovely Schoenhut Miss Dolly?
Looking at this blank face I wondered if I really would dare to do it. The hardest part is always making that first step... I painted the inside of her mouth black and then painted the sclera and the teeth white.
Oh no! What do we have here? Yikes, I really wondered if I was doing the right thing.
Her iris were the next to be painted...I decided to play safe and stay with a brown colour.
I added the pupils...Yes that 'caught in the headlights' startled look. Oh dear, I really shouldn't have attempted this! Still in for a penny in for a pound as the saying goes. (I wonder what that really means?)...
trots off to look it up...
If something is worth doing then it is a case of in for a penny, in for a pound, which means that when gambling or taking a chance, you might as well go the whole way and take all the risks, not just some.
Originally with reference to the fact that if one owed a penny, one might as well owe a pound as the penalties for non-payment were virtually identical in severity.
Next I painted her eyelids...
and then the corners of her eyes a skin coloured pink. I also highlighted the iris with a bronze and then painted in her eyebrows, trying to achieve a feathered look. All this is amazingly far more difficult than it sounds.
Lips I choose to mix white and red together to soften the colour....no, don't like that at all!
Decided to try red for her lips...I think it is better, but not entirely convinced...
Hmmm...best not to look close up I am thinking!
I am wondering what she is thinking. She doesn't look too upset.
Perhaps more resigned...as if to say, oh well if this is the best she can do...
I may well change her face as time goes on and I get more confident, but in the mean time I am going to go with it and see how I feel about it after a few days.
The next step was the waxing and polishing. It was a bit like giving a massage...something I could have done with!
I am loving the grain and colours that are coming out.
Just a shame she has the scorch marks on her face. Still I guess it adds to character, and at least she isn't all wrinkly like me!
Not having another wig for her, nor finding one I like yet, I decided to give her wig a wash. I used a wool wash and then a fabric conditioner, combed it through and then left in for a while. It was then rinsed and left to dry.
Yes I know your fringe is sticking up...I really am not quite sure what to do with it!
Well as she had been given a full body work over I thought I better make a new dress.
Yes I used the same skirt fabric that I made a dress for Anne-Marie with.
Peggy Sue returns to her bedroom
I'm not sure she has spotted the newcomer yet...
I think she may have now by the startled expression on her face...
to be continued.
You did a great job and I love the patina of the wood. Do you have any info regarding the maker of Peggy Sue? Regarding the lip colour you could try mixing a little of the brown you used for the eyes to the red to tone it down a bit.
ReplyDeleteAwwww! I think you did a great job! She looks wonderful. I especially like her eyes.
ReplyDeleteIf you decide to change the lip color, you might want to try adding a drop of orange or terra-cotta with the pink to get a more realistic lip color. I'm not an artist by any means, but I do remember being taught that all fleshy colors begin with an orange tone. Of course you have to play with the amount to get it the way you want.