Friday, May 10, 2013

The Tattooed Lady - Painting Progress

The due date for the 'Greatest Show on Earth' (circus theme) show at Blackbird Studios is coming up, so I've been busily working on my two paintings for the show. 

The first one, is the Tattooed Lady, a historical character in the circus sideshow. These were real women who grew up in working class families and wanted to make a better life for themselves. Becoming a Tattooed Lady for a circus provided that opportunity. The women would get paid something like $200 a week, which was amazing for the time. I think working class men got $15-20 per week.

The downside (or upside?) is that they had to have their whole bodies tattooed. They had to forever sacrifice their appearance, and step out of society, becoming a 'freak' for their whole lives. Everyone would always look at them and wonder, laugh, and make jokes at her expense. I think you'd have to be a pretty strong person to do that... not to mention that tattooing your whole body probably hurts... a LOT.

Anyway, here's the Tattooed Lady so far:





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