Colored pencil brings delicate texture and rich detail to each piece, capturing the essence of the Vintage Nouveau West style. These artworks blend nostalgic western motifs with the flowing, decorative elegance of Art Nouveau for a timeless, whimsical charm.
Explore the charm and detail of the Vintage Nouveau West Collection, where classic illustration techniques meet imaginative reinterpretation. Each piece draws on the elegance of the past while telling its own story, incorporating the flowing lines, organic forms, and whimsical motifs characteristic of Art Nouveau. Swirling curves, floral embellishments, and graceful, elongated shapes give the collection a sense of movement and ornate beauty, while playful Western elements lend a distinctive regional twist.
Queen of Hearts and Once Upon a Time are part of the Vintage Nouveau West Collection, created for the Nouveau West exhibit. While the exhibit theme initially suggested Art Deco, research revealed very little specifically labeled “Nouveau West,” so the pieces were inspired by a blend of Art Nouveau and Western motifs.
For Queen of Hearts, the starting point was the earlier Celeste illustration from the Vintage Artwork series. Her playful flowerpot hat became the central inspiration. The drawing was flipped 180 degrees and enlarged to create a striking card design, drawn in pencil and colored with colored pencils. Recreating the image upside down presented an interesting challenge, but the result highlighted her whimsical elegance in a bold, inventive way.
Once Upon a Time draws from the style of Art Nouveau women found in vintage illustrations online. Using Lillian as the basis, the composition was reimagined as a storybook cover. A detailed, ornate gold arch frames her head as she gazes out into the landscape, lost in thought. The drawing was colored lightly with colored pencils, using soft, muted tones to match the dreamy, narrative quality suggested by the title. Unlike other works that favor strong contrast, this piece embraces subtlety, evoking the gentle romance and timeless charm of a storybook world.
Both pieces reflect a careful study of period styles while transforming earlier portraits into fully realized, narrative-driven compositions for the exhibit.
See the Vintage Art Nouveau West Collection
