Faded Glamour: Coast of Old ladies

My MA project 2014

The coastal towns of Great Yarmouth, Cromer, Hunstanton and Lowestoft in East Anglia were the inspiration for my MA project: Faded Glamour

As I walked around the towns, drawing and sketching I found myself concentrating on the ornate details of the buildings that allude to the various towns’ heydays whilst also embracing the accidental opulence of decay. As I ambled around a cast of imagined old ladies began to form in my minds eye, and their imagined narratives influenced my creative process evoked by what I saw.

There is the old gal who’s unapologetic about her costume jewellery and bright red lipstick, she still reminisces about the town’s hay day with the dance halls and the hippodrome. But she doesn’t see its faded state; instead she sees the bright lights of the arcades and the happy holidaymakers. She is not melancholy.

Another is a dignified lady who epitomises for me the true notion of what faded glamour really is. In my cast of old ladies I would describe her as nostalgic to times passed, her jewellery is real and she is always smartly turned out. The clothes are refined but they are still old. She’s aged with dignity but faded all the same.

Finally there is the fallen legacy and a sad lady. The richness is there but it’s as if the next generation has squandered the family money.