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100 Drawings in 100 Days - Catwoman

BLYTHE (ALWAYS WANTED A TAIL...)

have you ever noticed that there are not too many superhero women, as they're usually typecast as the villains? well such is the case for my subject today, DC Comic's Catwoman. the very first Catwoman we saw was in 1940 and was played by Selina Kyle, usually as the villain, but sometimes as an ally and/or romantic figure to batman.

beginning in 1954 and until 1966 however, Catwoman took a bit of a hiatus due to the newly developing 'Comics Code Authority' and their issues regarding the portrayal of female characters. she was eventually to return, but as the anti-hero rather than the super villain and was played by several actresses, including the husky-voiced Eartha Kitt, Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry. her primary role began as a high-end jewelry thief and has morphed into a full-blown villain-turned love interest to Batman.

but, as my title suggests, i've always secretly wished that i had a tail, preferably a prehensile tail, but hey, a cat tail would do in a pinch too...

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - DEVIL BETTIE BLYTHE

BYTHE (HAS OFTEN WISHED SHE COULD HAVE HAD A TAIL... AND HORNS...) 

so, after quite a long string of "good girls" and "bad-ass girls" (aka goddesses), i think it's time to have the ultimate of bad girls... the lovely Ms. Bettie Page. i think she makes the most sweetly seductive, sublime and sinister of devils... you GO GIRL!

Bettie was born in nashville, tennessee in 1923, and was miss january 1955 pinup girl for playboy, making her one of the earliest pinup girls. she was a classic fetish and pinup model with her jet black hair and blue eyes, and is still today one of the fetish culture's idols. 

according to Hugh Hefner, Playboy founder and figure-head, "I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, and someone who had a tremendous impact on our society."

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - BLYTHE ATHENA

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - BLYTHE ATHENA

BLYTHE (JAMMING AS ATHENA IN THE REALM OF WAR GODDESS AND HER LITTLE PET OWL...)

while we are on the topic of classical mythological goddesses, we can't forget how important Athena was. her roman counterpart, Minerva, possessed very similar attributes and traits as Athena, mainly being the Goddess of War. some of the others were the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, female arts, crafts, justice, and skill, to name but a few. and interestingly enough, Athena was the polar opposite of her brother Ares, who was always up for a battle, whereas Athena was more interested in resolving the disputes in a more civilized manner, which is how most of the Goddesses conducted themselves.

the story of her birth is one that is quite obviously a fable, and is fantastical, while at the same time quite intriguing. her father, Zeus, the Supreme God and ruler of Olympus bore Athena from his forehead, and she emerged ready for battle. there are numerous versions of this story, but this is the more common:
'Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but he immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with Metis, Zeus "put her away inside his own belly," he "swallowed her down all of a sudden." He was too late: Metis had already conceived. Eventually Zeus experienced an enormous headache; Ares cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe, the labrys. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed, with a shout and pealed to the broad sky her clarion cry of war'.*

and that is the story of Athena, who is also the patron saint of Athens, Greece. what a woman!


* courtesy wikipedia

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - THE BIRTH OF BLYTHE

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - THE BIRTH OF BLYTHE

BLYTHE (SO THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE THE GODDESS VENUS - SHE ALWAYS WANTED TO HAVE THE WIND BLOWING THROUGH HER FLOWING HAIR AT ALL TIMES...)

flipping through my old art history books for the references to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa for my version of her, i stumbled upon this old favorite, Sandro Boticelli's Birth of Venus. it made me feel very nostalgic *sniff*...


now, the short story behind this lovely goddess Venus, is that she emerged from the sea a fully grown woman, and arrived at the sea shore to be met by her 3 lovely hand maidens with robes for her to wear. end of story. beautiful.


however it goes much deeper than that. the philosopher plato thought that the goddess Venus had two aspects to her nature: one of having the ability to arouse mortals to physical love, and the other to invoke feelings of intellectual love by way of her beauty leading them to think of the divine creator. i think i would have loved being around during the renaissance era just to be able to be a part of all this fantastic theoretical banter... but according to classical mythology, Venus was the roman goddess of fertility, love and beauty, while she was named Aphrodite in greek lore. but for all intents and purposes they were each others' counterparts from different countries.


while i was in college in the US, it was part of my duty as a student to complete several hours of humanities classes, and classical mythology fell into that category. i was thrilled because it seemed very interesting to me, and my professor looked like tweedle dee or dum from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which hopefully meant it was going to be a good summer. so professor dee-dum had us reading all manner of books, one of which was "Classical Mythology", fourth edition by Mark P.O. Morford and Robert J. Lenardon, in which they state that Venus and the god of war, Mars, while lovers, bore a child by the name of Cupid. And according to that story, Cupid goes on to be the most beautiful creature who, during a promise to a "client", accidentally pricks himself with his own arrow and falls in love with a mortal girl, Psyche. and that's a whole other story, but nonetheless a very good read.


during the renaissance, there was a resurgence of classical mythology that ran alongside the christian iconography, but that were both very politically driven. so, depending on who the patron was, the figures of the characters may take on the likeness or characteristics of the emperor, or the head of state, or the wealthy banker, etc. according to art historians, Boticelli's painting of "The Birth of Venus" celebrates in a flattering light, Lorenzo de Medici, and Venus is rumored to have been Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, a woman with whom both Lorenzo and his younger brother Guiliano were enamored. and as you can imagine, this caused a little trouble... trust those artists to stir up mischief!

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - BLYTHE IN A BURKA !!

BLYTHE (IT'S GETTIN' HOT IN HERE...)

now i have turned to what i consider to be some of the most striking, beautiful, devoted and pious women, yet the dress is very controversial in western society - the islam burka.

oh there is so much to be written here, and i just love that while i thought i was just doing a pretty little drawing and playing with ink on paper and watching the lovely lines interlacing, i was actually educating myself on the subject. how cool is that?!

the website that i went to for all this information is so lengthy that i will just give you the skinny version here and the link to the site ( here) if you would like more information.

"a Fatwa (in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar) written by Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid on the Saudi Arabian website Islam QA, states:

The correct view as indicated by the evidence is that the woman's face is 'awrah which must be covered. It is the most tempting part of her body, because what people look at most is the face, so the face is the greatest 'awrah of a woman."*

in afghanistan: the chadri (the full length robes and the head veil with just a mesh covering over a slit for the eyes) was not worn much before the Taliban. Their treatment of women required that they wear the chadri in public. and although it is not mandatory for women to wear it in afghanistan now, they still prefer to wear it as a matter of personal safety during a time of such political unrest.

in india: the wearing of the burka is more prominent especially if the woman is young and unmarried, or young and in the first few years of her marriage. after that, it is at the husband's discretion as to whether or not she continues to wear it.

in pakistan: the popularity of the burka has declined over the years except in rural areas. there the burka is not seen as a religious symbol, but one of honor, wealth and tradition and the wearing of it is not observed while traveling outside the area.

in israel: some time ago a group of jewish women began wearing the burka as a symbol of piety. then hundreds of women were doing it. as one woman put it, "I follow these rules of modesty to save men from themselves. A man who sees a woman's body parts is sexually aroused, and this might cause him to commit sin. Even if he doesn't actually sin physically, his impure thoughts are sin in themselves."*

and that was fine to think that way, until the husbands decided that it had the opposite effect, and actually became a sexual fetish that was just as promiscuous as wearing too little and could lead to even more danger of sexual transgressions. wow.

in syria: the burka is not allowed to be worn in schools or universities by students, teachers or staff.

in france: the burka has been prohibited from being worn in french public schools since 2004, which falls into line with their law from 1905 of not wearing or displaying any clearly visible religious symbols (the burka in france, considered a religious symbol much like a cross is to christians). in july of 2010, the assembly successfully placed a ban on burkas in public places. and they now have the "bill to forbid concealing one's face in public".*

in australia: the australian liberal senator, cory bernardi  called for the ban on the burka, which has not yet gone ahead, but the argument still continues.

and on it goes... the world is trying to find reasons that it is unsafe for your health to wear a burka, and people will try anything to put an end to that which they don't understand or fear. i say, each to their own.

* courtesy wikipedia

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - EASTERN GODDESS BLYTHE

BLYTHE (IS DIGGIN' THE BLING THAT GOES ALONG
WITH BEING A BODHISATTVA...)

allow me, if you will, to take you on a journey... actually a few journeys. i am delving into "sets" of drawings at the moment (it all started with alice...). i have already explored the Virgin Mary, and the Immaculate Heart images, and now i am heading further east, to the Buddhist countries and their Buddhas and (the female version) the Bodhisattvas.

now, there are so many different goddesses and gods, that i couldn't even begin to name them, for they are just too numerous, and they all hold different qualities. i have done a Mrs.  Potato Head, and actually taken bits and pieces from a few different Bodhisattvas to create my very own... (hope that's ok with the universe that i did that!) i have combined two in particular: Tara and Kwan Yin.

Both these Bodhisattvas embody compassion and Samsara (continuous suffering), and each of them have their trademark symbols: kwan yin with her 1000 arms and 1000 eyes because she is omnipresent (but usually portrayed with eyes in the palms of her hands), and usually holding or sitting on a lotus flower - a sign of purity; and tara with her calm and sympathetic expression because she is the goddess of longevity and healing. for the sake of simplicity and clarity, i preferred not to draw the 1000 arms (i would have run out of ink as well...), and only one eye besides the normal two on her face. but the story behind this goddess kwan yin is a must read, and for that matter so is tara's. they both have beautiful anecdotal qualities, which is why i was so attracted to them. 

when i lived in Oklahoma City, i attended a buddhist temple on sundays, and our primary focus was on the various Bodhisattvas, of which i had previously no experience. and so naturally i thoroughly enjoyed making up my own image of "Her".

100 Drawings in 100 Days - The Immaculate Heart of Blythe

BLYTHE (HOLY DOLLY!!)

i've decided to take blythe for a little wander musing as diety figures and/or goddesses. so, allow me to take you on this journey with us...

i'm not going into this for any other reason than i simply just adore religious iconography and the stories behind them. i do not wish to engage in any type of religious banter or controversy - it's just purely image related and the beauty within the images.

now, let's start with mary, and the immaculate heart of mary. i LOVE this image!! i just adore the loving expression you will find in each and every image of mary (well, sometimes she just looked plain bored, especially during the early renaissance). in most cases she just emanates love and acceptance. but i also love the symbol of the heart, pierced with the swords, the flames and the roses. in most images of the immaculate heart, you will find either thorns or roses, sometimes a lily springing forth from the top, a single sword or 7 swords, a cut on the heart with blood flowing from it, and usually but not always flames. in this image, i have picked and chosen what i wanted for aesthetic values, of course. and my roses are always Ed Hardy and Sailor Jerry roses (tattoo artists), just for a little twist.

"Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation."*

* courtesy wikipedia

100 Drawings in 100 Days - Blythe as Frida Kahlo

BLYTHE

(KNOWS HOW TO ROCK THAT EYEBROW SITUATION)

when i was in college, i took a profound interest in women artists later in my studies. it was towards the middle of my degree that i really started to ask myself the question of whether i was prepared to "do this", to make this my career, my living, my everything. and seeing as how i forgot to have children, the answer was 'yes'.

my major professor would constantly remind us all that we ought to have a second job as "backup". in other words, he knew of nobody personally who was making it as an artist, and it would be in our best interests to have insurance, i guessed.

i began researching female artists from the time they first began appearing in the renaissance (there were very few back then, but they were dissuaded by their families to do so, and would paint and have an artists' presence as men). then mary cassatt came onto the scene in the mid 1800's, but women in art colleges were treated with a patronizing attitude from other male students and teachers, and were not allowed to draw the live model. and after a while, her came little miss frida kahlo!

frida kahlo was born just outside of mexico city in 1907, and suffered physically for most of her life, which is probably what brought her to become a painter. she was confined to bed in a full body cast for 3 months after being in an automobile accident at the age of 18. her injuries were severely debilitating, and left her with fractured ribs, multiple fractures to the leg and foot, spinal column, shoulder and a hand-rail from the street car she was traveling in impaled her abdomen and uterus, which left her reproductively challenged.

whilst she was confined to her bed, her father set up an arrangement so that she had a mirror positioned directly above her face, and with some sketch paper, pencils, canvas paint brushes and paints, frida was able to release all of her emotions and eventually her life story onto the canvas. even after she was rehabilitated, she did suffer relapses of chronic pain, but she was able to maintain a decent level of quality of life.

she married diego rivera, a very famous mexican mural artist and the two of them were a very combustible connection - both with their fair share of infidelities, which led to their divorce and then re-marriage that ended up being just as fiery and troublesome as it was the first time.

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - MONA BLYTHE

BLYTHE

(IS FEELING A BIT SMUG

BECAUSE SHE KNOWS THE REAL REASON

THAT THE MONA LISA IS SMILING...)

my best friend from high school came to see me this weekend, bringing with her, her husband and my biggest fan club, her 3 sons. of course i love them all dearly, particularly because they are all little smarty-pants-show-off-daredevils and funny as can be! over dinner, we were discussing my drawings, and how i was in need of some inspiration. adin, the oldest, suggested a few ideas, but this was the money-shot! the Mona Lisa. of course!! brilliant!! (don't tell him that, he'll get a big fat head...)

now the story behind the mona lisa is a bit of historical fact and a lot of speculation, because dear old Leo just couldn't do a painting without hiding something forbidden within the layers of paint. he was not the man to go to if you had a secret, because he would hide it in his paintings or in his writings (mirror-image, so as to trick people into thinking it was a different language. i learned how to do this at an early age for the sake of my christmas list...). whether he did or he didn't plan on people in the future having access to the technological advancements that would enable them to decipher his hidden secrets, we'll never know. but they did. and we now know all manner of things about this woman, supposedly the wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

many scholars have tried to uncover the truth behind the smile of the Mona Lisa, and there are countless number of theories out there, which one is the truth we'll never really know. but the one that i tend to favor, is from Dan Brown, the author of "The Da Vinci Code".

the Mona Lisa is without a doubt the world's most famous painting, and the reason for that is simply that it was da Vinci's best accomplishment. the speculation behind the guessing of the reason for the smile, he states, was that da Vinci was trying to make a point about the feminine being the finer sex, which all goes back to the theory of Mary Magdalene being the wife of Christ. in the composition of the painting, da Vinci had made the left side of the landscape in the background lower than the right, which made the left side of her look larger, more important. this is Leo's little inside joke, as the female is usually associated with the left, and the male with the right. so, here he has made the female more important and majestic as he was a huge advocate of the feminine principles. he also believed that the human soul could not be enlightened unless it had both male and female elements.

there is some truth behind the rumor that the Mona Lisa is androgynous, and da Vinci hid one big clue in it's title "MONA LISA". he was trying to get the message across about the power of male/female elements. AMON was the egyptian fertility god. his counterpart was ISIS, the fertility goddess (whose ancient pictogram was once called L'ISA). AMON L'ISA. as brown puts it, "...not only does the face of Mona Lisa look androgynous, but her name is an anagram of the divine union of male and female. and that, my friends, is da Vinci's little secret, and the reason for Mona Lisa's knowing smile."

so, after many hours of drawing (consider that it took Leo years to paint this!), here she is. and i love her.