100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - the bunny strikes again

BLYTHE (WONDERS HOW A BIG FAT ROCK ON HER HAND WOULD LOOK, AS SHE PRACTICES SAYING "MRS. BLYTHE HEFNER...")

after i graduated college with my MFA in printmaking, i was invited to join and participate in the AGD (american graphic design) show called the "20 x 2", which was a monthly event held in a swank little lecture-type place, and there were 20 artists with 2 minutes each to discuss the chosen topic. the topic my group was given was "passion". well, can i just tell you that it's not easy coming up with a 2 minute presentation about passion, especially one that won't confuse the audience. the objective was to captivate their attention and leave an impression.

so, i invested in a playboy bunny outfit, did quite a lot of research, and found that i could take people on a 2 minute journey through history which went from the passions of christ and the crucifixion to easter sunday, then the easter bunny, and finally arriving at the playboy bunny, quite obviously one of many objects of passion. my presentation was fast, furious and to the point and all the while, i was striding through the crowd in my skimpy outfit and the highest of heels, handing out plastic pull-apart easter eggs with a bag of "passion" tea and a chocolate inside each egg.

now, the real connection i found between "passion" and the Playboy Bunny was a no-brainer - the bunny, present at easter and at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Clubs. as it turned out, to become a playboy bunny was quite an extraordinary feat. there was a certain protocol to being a Bunnygirl, beginning with the audition, the "Bunny Stance" and even the "Bunny Dip" (a technique for bending down to serve a drink while keeping the low-cut bunny uniform in place), down to the Bunny having knowledge of 143 brands of liquor, and how to garnish 20 different cocktails. Bunnies were not allowed to fraternize with the patrons unless they were a C1 patron, the most important of all patrons.

in a way, you could say that the Playboy Bunnygirls were some of the most memorable of the influential women in history, because let's face it, what little boy hasn't grown up without sneaking at least one peek at a playboy magazine? and what would the world be like today if it weren't for the Bunnygirls and Mr. Hugh Hefner?

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - BITTEN

BLYTHE (TIRED OF REPRIMANDING HER FRIENDS FOR NOT TELLING HER ABOUT HER LIPSTICK-TEETH, HAS FINALLY FOUND A NEW LIPSTICK THAT DOESN'T LEAVE MARKS ON HER VAMPIRE FANGS)

now this little lady is not any particular woman of note in history, but who doesn't love a sexy vampire? personally, i am of the opinion that all vampires should be sexy to the point of 'don't do it, you'll regret it, there's major danger ahead if you proceed, but you can't resist the urge to be drawn in by this creature who wants to bite your neck, drink your blood and possibly ruin your life' gorgeousness.

historically speaking, however, the vampiric stories have been around since prehistoric times but were not popularized until the 18th century. they became legendary in the balkans and eastern europe where the vampires were known as "vrykolakas" in greece and "strigoi"* in romania.

after quite a long period of the vampire being portrayed as a nightmarish, almost rotting-corpse figure, it was John Polidori's novella "The Vampyre" in 1819 that settled the score for the charismatic, sophisticated and attractive appearance of the insatiably erotic creatures. but it wasn't until 1897, when Bram Stoker's "Dracula" was released (at a time when people were still reeling from the anxieties of the victorian patriarchy) that we fell in love with the quintessential lustful, erotic and increasingly sexy vampire creatures of the night.

and in this image of Blythe, she is drawn in the most seductive light possible, so as to emphasize the powers of being a lusty blood-thirsty vampire...

*information courtesy of wikipedia

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

BLYTHE (THINKS THAT THE GIRLS AT THE MAC COSMETICS COUNTER WENT A LITTLE OVERBOARD ON THE CLEOPATRA-INSPIRED MAKEUP COLLECTION...)

as i was trying to wrack my brain for inspiration for a new Blythe drawing, i was poring over images of historically powerful women, or women of note in historical times, and i came across an image of the late Elizabeth Taylor in her role as Cleopatra. what a beautiful woman she was, and timelessly lovely. my mother used to say that there are two types of beauty in women - "chocolate box pretty" and "classical beauty". the former being that of the glitzy, sparkly, shiny and attractive (on the outside, but lacking inner substance) women, and the latter is the type of woman who was just stunning all the way around, just like Elizabeth Taylor.

now, i did some research on darling Cleopatra, and while she was a very influential woman historically, she came from a period in time when families were in-bred to preserve the integrity of the throne... ahem... wow! that's all i got to say. wow! (and YUCK!) yes, her first two husbands were her brothers (again, YUCK!).

her third partner, to whom she bore a son, was Julius Caesar, who was not related (hail Caesar!!), and finally Mark Antony, to whom she bore 3 children. when Mark Antony committed suicide, Cleopatra followed suit by way of a bite from an asp...

Cleopatra was renowned not only for her leadership in the Egyptian Empire, but more notably her liasons with extremely powerful men, which were testimony to her aesthetic and sexual appeal. go Cleo!

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - IN MEMORY OF AMY WINEHOUSE

BLYTHE WINEHOUSE

this morning, it was all over the news that 27 year-old singer Amy Winehouse died last night. i have to admit, i wasn't her most devoted fan, but i did enjoy her music, i loved her beehive hairdo, and the woman had an amazing voice! unfortunately, as her famous song "Rehab" tells the story, she was known to indulge in too much drink and drug from time to time.

but she's not the only young singer to have lost their lives at the ripe old age of 27 - joining "club 27" are Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, and Jim Morrison from the Doors. so, in memory of Amy Winehouse, today i decided that Blythe should be a famous singer with an even more famous beehive hairstyle...

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - DREAMING OF JEANNIE

BLYTHE (IS WONDERING HOW ON EARTH SHE CAN FIT ALL HER FURNITURE INSIDE THE JEANNIE BOTTLE...)

it was just a couple of weeks ago that i was watching the morning news show, and they had the stars from "I Dream of Jeannie" in the studio, and i could not believe how Barbara Eden had aged so beautifully! who knows, maybe she has had some work done, but she looks amazing. and what a racy little number she used to wear on that show from back in the 60's!! they were talking about how she could expose her belly, but not her belly button - that was taking things too far (if only they had known then what we are like now!)

i've decided, at least for a while, to feature famous women or female roles in showbiz history in my 'Blythe' drawings, simply because i think we all get a bit of a kick out of seeing how someone else might portray that figure. and i will be drawing the Blythe dolls for a while, possibly moving along to other things for the rest of the 100... or maybe not. i have yet to decide... so stay tuned.