Bubble-gum Bouguereau Photo-set: Selfie (Frankie & Esme) (Patreon)

Our second photo-set in the Bubble-gum Bouguereau series is a dual-model set, presenting highly dramatised vignettes of selfie culture. Far from the preserve of the young, selfies have become a primary means of self-documentation with family photos and holiday snaps routinely shot at arms length to include the photographer. In 2021 Laura Ryan explored the history of the selfie and its influence of portrait painting on the Draw blog, proposing Parmigianino's 1524 painting Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror as the first portrait to use the visual language often associated with the contemporary photographic selfie. 

‘Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror’ (1524) by Parmigianino

The circle painting or tondo, may have different implications for us now to when Parmigianino painted his portrait, reminding us of the ubiquitous eye of the camera lens which stares back at us as we take our own portrait. Perhaps even that motif is outdated, superseded by the rectangular 'black mirror' of the smartphone. 

This photoset was also inspired by William-Adolphe Bouguereau's circular painting Flora and Zephyr, in which the the our eye is directed directly towards the dual subjects of the painting, rather than relying on the horizontal and vertical limits of a rectangular canvas to guide our navigation of the pictorial space.

'Flora and Zephyr' (1875) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

We'd always encourage you to explore different ways of interpreting photosets, cropping and re-drawing or re-painting as you see fit to explore how new compositions can change the focus of a narrative image - below are two re-cropings of this weeks photosets as an example. 

• Recommended reading: Laura Ryan's blog Selfie Culture and Contemporary Portraiture
• Recommended watching: Nosedive, Episode 1 Series three of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror (link to Netflix).

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About the models

• Esme (pronouns: they/them) is a musician & life model - you can follow Esme on Instagram HERE.
• Esme's life photo-set can be found HERE,  clothed set HERE, portrait set HERE,  tutu set HERE and you can spot Esme as a deer in the Drawing Circus HERE and as a mermaid HERE 

• Frankie is our longest-serving model, working  at Draw for 15 years and can be found on Instagram HERE. She is also currently raising money for art school - you can support her HERE.
• You can find portrait replays of Frankie HERE and HERE
• You can find Frankie's Magritte themed life drawing replay HERE and her bath themed session HERE
• Find Frankie's clothed, portait, life & Summer Showers photo-sets by following the links.
• Frankie is ringmistress of the Drawing Circus and is in most of our Drawing Circus reference image HERE
• Frankie has more reference photos available on her Patreon HERE

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About the photos

• This photoset was shot by Justyna Neryng - you can buy or commission photosets from her directly HERE
• You can follow Justyna on Instagram HERE
• For the full list of autumn 2023 release dates, have a look at our teaser photo-set HERE

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Use the Draw Patreon Navigator to find any of our past photosets and take a look at our blogs on how to gather, manipulate and translate photo reference.

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Guidelines for using the photographs

Please do:

• Download these pictures to your own computers and devices, downloading the Zip files for all images, or saving individual photos.
• Use the pictures to draw, paint, print and sculpt from, being as realistic or creative as you like
• Share the artwork you’ve made with us and the world - in books, in exhibitions, on social media, or on your fridge
• Tag us in work you make (@drawbrighton / #drawbrighton) – you don’t have to, but we love to see what you’ve made!
• Edit the photo files as reference for your own drawings - you can change the contrasts, colours and backgrounds to provide more tailored reference for yourself.

Please don't:

• Share these pictures with anybody else – they are between you and us
• Share the photos themselves online – thanks for respecting our models’ privacy
• Include photos themselves in artwork – we want to see original work you’ve made

Thanks!