Style Imitating Art: “You Come First” by Audrey Kawasaki

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Terri of MeadowTree Style, and Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as curator, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the curator by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the curator will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join! You are invited to share your images on Instagram or other social media platforms. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Terri, and Shelbee or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

The Inspiration Artwork

The inspiration artwork was chosen by Salazar. You can read why she picked this work here.

The Artwork

“You Come First” by Audrey Kawasaki

About the Artist: Audrey Kawasaki

Audrey Kawasaki is a Japanese-American artist born on March 31, 1982, in Los Angeles, California, where she lived and worked until moving to England last year. (Source) She is best known for her oil and acrylic paintings on wood panels which depict young women who are both innocent and erotic as a way of conveying the “mysterious intrigue of feminine sensuality.” (Source) The artist’s creative influences come from the east and the west as she merges together the traditions of Art Nouveau and Japanese Manga to create her own signature style that both intrigues and tantalizes the viewer.

Being inspired to draw from a young age, Kawasaki began fine art classes in her late teen years where she learned the foundations of drawing and painting. Later, she attended the Pratt Institute in New York City to study fine art painting, but she left after two years without completing her degree. She says that several professors had continually discouraged her style of painting nudes which led to her withdraw from Pratt. She also cites the New York art scene’s emphasis on conceptual art being at odds with her more figurative and illustrative approach as another reason she returned to the west coast. After returning to California, she began showing her work at various art galleries internationally in 2005. By 2006, Audrey Kawasaki was considered a rising star in the Los Angeles art scene.

In 2008, she was pregnant with her daughter and discussing how motherhood will impact her art and her life. Kawasaki is currently working on a new body of art that will be on exhibition in London this November. (Source)

Her work is absolutely stunning, in my non-expert opinion. If it appeals to you, definitely click on some of the links in this post. There is so much more that I haven’t shared here.

About the Art: “You Come First”

“You Come First” is a 2012 wood block painting done in Kawasaki’s signature style using oils, acrylics, and graphite on a 16 x 16 inch wood panel. This piece was included in her ‘Midnight Reverie’ exhibition which was held at New York’s Jonathan Levine Gallery in 2012. She begins her process by first treating the wood panel in preparation for painting, then she draws the image using graphite pencil before finishing with paints. She generally uses only 9 colors of paints which she mixes to create all of the other hues that appear in her works. You can read her detailed process here. And here is a bit about this piece in progress. It really is quite interesting.

In 2013, “You Come First” was released on a limited edition cup and saucer set.

Resources/References:

• Audrey Kawasaki Official Website
• Audrey Kawasaki: Wikipedia
• Audrey Kawasaki Blog
• With Maidens of Mystery – The artwork of Audrey Kawasaki
• Naughty but Nice
• A World of Art & Audrey Kawasaki

About My Outfit

First, I must mention how much I love this wood block painting. It is just so pretty. I have always had an affinity for eastern influences in fashion, art, religion, and philosophy so it is no surprise that this artwork appeals so strongly to me. I also appreciate a bit of intrigue and erotica thrown in the mix. And Audrey Kawasaki has provided just that! But what the heck does a person wear to reflect the provocative yet demure energy that exudes from “You Come First”?

The universe helped me out with this one as serendipity has intervened once again. I recently ordered this black and white kimono (free with rewards points) and it arrived just in time for me to realize the print was a perfect match for the painting. Check it out…

I had planned to wear my new kimono over a tan, brown, or pale blush dress but I had nothing of the sort that worked so I opted for a skirt and turtleneck combination instead. The black turtleneck highlights the heaviness of the dark paints that dominate the wood block image. My blush colored tulle skirt with its dainty Swiss dots reflects not only the feminine energy infused in the artwork but it also represents the array of circles and dots that appear throughout the painting. My skirt is too big and needed a belt to stay in place so I chose my black velvet obi sash as a way to pay tribute to the artist’s Japanese heritage.

I cannot ignore the bits of turquoise that are sprinkled through the dotty shapes on the wood block image. These tiny bursts of vibrance against the wood and dark saturated hues bring joy to my rainbow soul. So I splashed turquoise around my outfit with my earrings, necklaces, and boots. My long necklace was made by Michelle and I chose it specifically because the round beads look like the turquoise dotted circles in the painting. And the paisley embossing on my boots reminds me of wood block art for some reason. My other necklace is a recently thrifted item that I have been wanting to wear and now I had a reason. My earrings were a gift from a friend. And all of it together created the perfect combination to represent this gorgeous artwork. And I have another outfit that made me feel really pretty!

I do hope you enjoyed my interpretation and feel inspired to play along! Be sure to check out Salazar’s interpretation of the artwork as well as Terri’s take on it. If you would like to participate in this challenge and have your photo included in Salazar’s round up post on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, be sure to email your photos to her by Tuesday, October 24, 2023, by 10:00 p.m. EST. I am excited to see what you all style!

*Photo Credit: Archer, the Elder

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Joining with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Kimono, Turtleneck, and Obi Belt-Torrid / Skirt-LC by Lauren Conrad for Kohls / Boots-Shoe Dazzle / Short Necklace-Thrifted / Long Necklace-Made by Michelle / Earrings-Gift from a friend