lockdown is not such a bad place when you have fabulous inmates...

a creative collaboration with the multi talented ellie walker of the mama jinx collective, on a sunny afternoon in the early days of lockdown.

headpiece, modelling & styling by ellie walker

makeup & photography by yours truely

xxx

Lockdown has been a great opportunity to experiment and I have been incredibly fortunate to have a few willing canvases trapped at home with me...  one grey and melancholy morning, inspired by the beautiful digital artwork and colour palettes of Xhxix whose work often deals with themes of loneliness, we took to the garden and the overcast skies to take advantage of the soft light and spring blossoms.

Ive been wanting to expand my work into the realm of cinemagraphs for a while and the falling blossoms provided the perfect opportunity to collage some movement into the stillness. I'm looking forward to learning to work more with this medium and to be able to offer it as a service with my creative portraiture.

Thank you to the wonderful Justin Mcdonnell for modelling for me <3

xxx

Lcokdown has been an interesting time. Though ive been generally embracing the oppertunity to work on personal projects and delve into creative possibilities, There came a weekend were all I could bring myself to do do was sleep. Waking was being nowhere, unable to connect, converse, focus, smile, cry, even muster the motivation to escape into a film or the pages of a book. Cocooned in a blanket of soft, deep, sadness that seemed to have bubbled up of its own accord and wasn't letting anything else in nor I out. I was not best pleased I can tell you....

What eventually broke through the haze was catching onto the drifting though of painting, and I thought...maybe... instead of trying to sleep this off why not just allow it to be, really feel it, express it, play with it... It's truly amazing how much this helped - trying to convey the emotion in paint and photo, acknowledging and processing what i was feeling, exploring it and then literally washing it down the drain when I was done.

Its paved the way for a wonderful week of learning, experimenting and creating and helped me slip into a zone I'd lost the keys to for over a year. And, its reminded me to be grateful for the downs, because they are part of the cycle that brings the ups - which really are far more fun let be honest

A short emotive video collaboration with the one and only Donatella Parisini Photography featuring the gorgeous Sophie Taylor.
xxx

A huge thank you to Volition Magazine for publishing our Frida inspired editorial in their 4th issue!

Models: Vanessa and Arna - No Frills Twins
Photography/Styling: Donatella Parisini Photography
Makeup / Headpieces / Graphic art: Elvis Schmoulianoff

So proud to have not one but two editorials out this month in the wonderful Volition Magazine!

The Bearable Lightness of Being is a shoot conceptualized by Donatella Parisini inspired by the soft evanescence and floral detailing of Francesco Scognamiglio's Spring 2016 collection.

A new promo beauty clip for Manik - The Hair & Makeup studio, showcasing the work of head stylist Zoë Zee Pickles.

Model: Mary Eckert
Make up: Elvis Schmoulianoff
Director/Editor:  Donatella Parisini
Music: Desert Dwellers

Intertwined is the first installment of Rough Love,  a new conceptual series I am developing in collaboration with photographer Donatella Parisini. The series is an exploration into the application of textures onto the human canvas and simultaneously a journey to capture the unique chemistry of couples through photography and video. 

For Intertwined we had the vast pleasure of working with our dear friend Mollie and her lovely boyfriend Jasper. These two exceptional human beings absolutely adore one another and their chemistry was truly beautiful to behold. The aim was to create a piece that spoke visually of this inter-connectivity - that feeling where for better or worse every fiber of your being is interlaced with anothers, it nourishes you, warms you, completes you, consumes you - and there is no escaping it. Love is not simple, love is not tidy, it is messy and complicated yet it is beautiful - these were the attributes I aimed to echo through the makeup and hair.

The makeup for this shoot was inspired by a technique I picked up from Powdah FX - an incredible SFX artist from Melbourne - who I've seen used strands of wool to create veins and blood vessels in his wound simulations. Working on a sheer base of airbrushed white makeup from Bluebird FX I carefully layered strands of coloured alpaca wool sources from a local charity shop onto a non tacky medical adhesive to create the looks on Mollie and Jasper. Once all of the wool was laid down (a mere 7 hours later!)  I added a little depth and fill to select areas with light layers of makeup inks.

My deepest thanks go out to all involved in this project and to Christine at Voiliton Magazine in LA for being so kind as to publish our work in her May issue available here for download and purchase.

xxx

​" kenopsia
n. the eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that’s usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet"
                                                                                                         John Koenig's Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Model: Marcus Kym Louend
Photography (3-6) / Direction: Clare Nica
​Makeup / Photography (1-2) / Edits: Elvis Schmoulianoff