D & G

Tom's most recent fashion portrait. Capturing the feel of 1960's Italia a la Fellini. Original is available for purchase.

Miss Honey

Miss Honey, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

NEW print by Tom!! Find this peachy fairy here

The Imaginarium of Lily Cole

Lily Cole in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Tom and I recently saw the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus starring Christopher Plummer, the late Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, and cameos by Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Tom Waits as a truly believable Devil. It was fascinating to see the fashion model Lily Cole animated outside of her usual iconic 2-D form. We couldn't take our eyes off her and to hear her speak was unusual after so many years of mute exposure! It was somewhat like watching the Mona Lisa make up pasta in Nona's kitchen with all of her flaws, with the occasional f-word uttered when burning her hand.
In recognition of the film we've added two new prints of Lily to our etsy shop! These are two of the many (and my favorite!) representations by Tom of Miss Cole.

Lily by Tom

Lily Circles by Tom

Chanel 2

Dutch Lara

dutch lara, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.
Tom's new portrait of that infamous fashion model Lara Stone, she's up to no good!

A sit down with Jesus and Campari

My husband Tom's recent interview with a San Francisco fashion journalist. I liked the responses- thought you might enjoy!

Lara Spring

What intrigues you about fashion?
The fact that it transcends the "real world", like art, and invites some sense of fantasy into what can be an otherwise mundane existence.

When did you begin painting?
I began painting very early on as my mother was an artist, I probably had my first set of real oil paints by the time I was 8 years old.

What are some of your favorite local artists?
As I visit NYC quite often I will use it as my sense of local. The work on Martha's Vineyard tends to be generic and provincial. Some of my favorite current artists are John Currin, Alex Katz, Marylin Minter...etc.

Jil Sander, sketchbook

What is your most treasured piece of art?
As I constantly make new art, my favorite piece is always my last. If pressed to name a piece that I own it would have to be a small ceramic sparrow that I still have and insisted that my mother buy me at the age of 5.

Where is your favorite place in the world?
I have a few, I love Paris after having lived there for 5 years. I am completely fascinated with the idea of living in a small wooden mountain house in the Swiss Alps, and St. Petersburg Russia is beyond my ability to describe in terms of its ability to charm and enchant.

Westwood

Who is your favorite designer and why?
I tend to be interested in British fashion designers, obviously Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen come to mind. Their use of materials, such as tartan and primitive materials from Britain's past, incorporated into their modern designs lend a sense of fantasy to their work.

What is your greatest indulgence?
Window shopping in motorcycle and automobile showrooms such as Ducati and Porsche where things are just out of reach.

If you see her say hello, she might be in Tangiers, 4x6 ft.

Where do you find inspiration?
All around me. Everything in nature is now and has always been of complete fascination to me. The colors of birds, newly sprouting leaves, the ocean and even the white of newly fallen snow. And of course Paris Vogue and W Magazine act as great source material. The British photographer Tim Walker's sense of the fantastic is also an attraction.

Who do you admire and why?
Anyone seeking wisdom instead of wealth.

What media do you prefer to paint with?
I love working with oils because of their ability via their smells oddly enough to transport me back to my first experience of painting as a child. As of late I am intrigued with the immediacy and simplicty of pencil on good French cotton rag paper, such as Rives BFK, with a little Winsor-Newton gouache thrown in for color.

Ruffles

Who would you like to sit down to drinks with?
Someone with a deep understanding of the truth and at the same time someone that didn't carry the world so heavily on their shoulders. In otherwords someone that I could gain insight from. Maybe the Dali Lama or Christ or Ghandi?? I think Jesus would love to share a glass of Campari while watching birds fly overhead in a Piazza in Firenza.

Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Riding my old BMW R60/6 motorcycle way too fast down an English Country road before the hoi polloi is out of bed.

Do you have a muse?
Lately it has been Lara Stone because of the (unknown to her) sense of comedy that is present in most of her photoshoots. In terms of practice or how I choose to live my life the above three mentioned icons aren't bad either.

I saw the Virgin Mary at the end of my baguette, 4x6 ft.

And if you haven't visited Tom's website yet check it out here I've been doing some updates! Also check out the new special exhibition at the Met entitled The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion- gives insight into Tom's practice! (Opens this Wed. May 6th)

Emily Photo Shoot

emily, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.
Spent the day with pouring rain and clouds that were so low they went below ground level... managed to get a little light for a quick photo shoot. Documenting a couple of Tom's new portraits!

Paris Stone

Paris Stone, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

New Drawing by Tom- I love the mark making and absence of color- the black, cream and gold is so elegant! Plus I love those abstract ruffles/ feather boa! That pencil be crazy!

Paris Stone Sneak Peek

More rainy day drawing, this one by Tom...

Welcome to the collection Agyness Deyn

agyness deyn, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

New from the studio of Tom, Britain's most annoying person 2008/2009 ? model Agyness Deyn. Now immortalized forever like Da Vinci's Madonna...


Rock on Agyness- you go girl!

Chanel 09 Print

Chanel 09, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

Ok I know I've already talked about my husband Tom's Chanel 09 drawing before but the first professionally scanned AND printed image came in today and I'm completely blown away!! The quality is AMAZING!!! I'm super excited, it is so beautiful! Yay! ok I've recently added it to my etsy shop here (with my kitties!) so if you're ever looking for great art, once again, this print is stunning! I had to share.. ;)