Jacquie Severs

Ok, so it's mid August. How did that happen? How did I miss all of July? I know it's been slow here at the blog. Summertime and work duties are to blame, but being too busy is just the way I like it. Anyhow, so I'm posting the July entry late but it's my blog and I'll blog if I want to. That just means you get two this month.

Wendy Ding is an illustrator from Toronto. She counts Music, fashion, pin-up girls, and food as her main inspirations, which is definitely apparent in this series of illustrations titled "Food Girls".


There are a number of other illustration series on her website, but I'm most drawn to these food girls. They remind me of a series by artist Mel Ramos.

See some examples of Mel Ramos' art:
Velveeta
Baby Ruth
and lets not forget Chiquita...

Anyhow, they have that same pretty-lady-and-food-feel, though Ding's food illustrations have a more surreal-comic-art feel to them instead of a vintage pinup look. And while Ramos' art explores the juxtaposition between perceptions of feminine beauty and society's consumerist ideals and desires, Ding's work is much less rooted in the interpretive concepts and moreso in humour and whimsy.


Her interview with Toro provides me this quote about the Food Girls series,  

"I’ve always loved drawing sexy and elegant girls, and the idea developed from a sketch. I wanted to juxtapose pin-ups with unexpected scenarios and objects to make them more whimsical and interesting. The hot dog girl came first as I drew a Bettie Page-inspired pin-up who is reclining, and then it hit me: she would look great lying in a hot dog bun! And it snowballed from there. I experimented with different food items that would wrap, surround and present the girls in different settings to see how many ways they can interact together, and it eventually became a series."




Ding is showing her works often and has an upcoming solo show at Come As You Are this September (because you needed an excuse to go there, right? Such a great store). Stay tuned to her site for details on upcoming exhibitions or events where you might be able to pick up a lady-hot-dog-fridge-magnet.

Her blog is fresh too, it features more of her sketches, which are ever-so-lovely and feature more fashion over flesh.

Oh yeah, visit her Society 6 page and  you can purchase these lovelies as a print or ever better, an iphone skin.





Links:
Wendy Ding's website
Wendy Ding's Blog

Learn more about the art of Mel Ramos by reading this essay.
Visit the Mel Ramos official site.