David Downton

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As a Fashion illustrator, David Downton's priority isn't the model's face but, instead, what she's wearing none the less, Downton always seems to capture her elegance and expression without taking the spotlight from the dress by using basic black and white for the face and body and a vibrant colour for the attire. His illustrations grasp hey moments in fashion and haute couture in history.

Downton's fame has given him comissions from various magazines, posters and celebrities, these including; Vogue, Top Shop, Harrods, Chanel, Dior, Tiffany & Co., the Victoria and Albert museum, Rachel Weiz, Dita von Teese and Cate Blanchette to name a few... 

In his full coloured illustrations (shown above), what catches the viewers eye is the bright colour of the dress, also the same colour of the background. The simplicity, the unfinished looks and almost abstract lines attract a young range of viewers. The unfinished look gives it an air of tired elegance and femininity with an almost easy-to-do style of art, but the detail in the tones of the face say otherwise making his portraits powerful, capturing the emotion and facial expression in it's full glory whilst still keeping the viewer interested in the dress.

This makes the overall design captivating and graceful. What I love about Downton's work is that he knows where to put the rough brush marks and where to keep the light, delicate tones to maintain femininity and grace. The dark and light tomes on the face bring the paintings to a more realistic level, but he keeps it an illustration with his mark makings and colour (or lack of) in hair and dress, whilst still making it detailed.

The colour impact in his work is eye-catching, not only in his fashion illustrations, but also in his portraits where the maximum colour appears in the lip colour and eyes almost staring back at the viewer with a powerful glance. These factors make the painting, bold, vivid and intense.

It goes without saying that Downton's portraits are as equally expressive as his fashion illustrations, capturing their facial expressions with crude acrylic marks and soft ink details. I particularly like his portraits, they're simple yet powerful. His technique is modern, quick and jaunty.

'I first met Dita in Beverly Hills in 2004 and I realised that when you are drawing her, you follow her lead; she has imagined this fabulously glamorous, other-worldly creature and has made the world see things her way. She is a flesh and blood illusion. This drawing was from a sitting in Paris, for my magazine Pourquoi Pas?' -David Downton for Vogue Magazine

'I did a series of drawings of the sublime Cate Blanchett for the cover of Vogue Australia's 50th anniversary issue. It was a highlight of my career, no question. The sitting took place at the Dorchester, we had expert hair, make-up and styling, and it was treated as seriously as any other cover shoot. I saw it as a blow for drawing in a world saturated by photography.' -David Downton for vogue Magazine

Links of use:
http://www.vogue.co.uk/person/david-downton
http://www.daviddownton.com
http://www.illustrationdivision.com/downton
http://justine-picardie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/david-downton-and-his-masters-of.html
http://theharlow.net/david-downton-a-master-of-fashion-illustration/
http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/15th-anniversary/david-downton/rachel-weisz-2004

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