"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds (War Is Over)"

Artist: Alice McMahon White
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Card: US$3.99

"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds (War Is Over)"

Pastel painting on Kitty Wallis sanded pastel paper. From a photo shopped photographic reference shot I took of my daughter.

My daughter and model dragged me along to an antiwar march in DC this past St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2007. Best parade I was ever in on the day! That march really influenced my work and “Lucy” was painted a month after the experience. The photo reference was taken at Kent State University when we were visiting my son for homecoming. My daughter was standing on the hill where the shootings had taken place in 1970, I saw the shot, and captured her as she really was, crazy Halloween top hat and the balloon she’d Christened “Tuesday” with a sharpie marker. I reversed the puffy white clouds in photo shop to create a smoky haze of “War Is Over” clouds. The white outline around the figure was a remnant of the photoshop effect. I liked the surreal quality of that so I kept it for the “LSD” Beatles factor. The piece is framed in an old 70’s frame and studded with plastic rhinestones. ;-)

“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”

Additional information from my myspace blog:

I’ve been getting some questions about this piece, I suppose because it’s a bit of a departure for me. More surreal or psychedelic than my usual work. Part of that is intentional as a reflection of the nature of the Beatles tune which influenced the work. John Lennon always denied that the song referred to LSD, and was really inspired by Julian’s childish drawing of a girl flying in the sky. Appropriate that this pastel is inspired by my daughter’s personality. It shows her progression toward adulthood, which is the underlying theme of my White Album series.

This work began as a candid snapshot of my artsy daughter at 16. We were visiting my son at Kent State U, Ohio, for Homecoming. She was really wearing the cheap top hat around campus that day, she had gotten it for her Halloween costume. The Kent Homecoming committee were passing out the balloons and she took one, and for some reason decided to name it “Tuesday” and wrote that on the balloon with a sharpie. It was a windy day with large puffy white clouds, and she was standing on the hill where the Kent State Massacre had occured. This is an important detail about my thought process for the piece, as the tragic event happened in May 1970 – the year the Beatles broke up, and around the time John Lennon began his life with Yoko and did the Baggism, Bed-In and “War Is Over” song and campaign.

I saw the shot that day as she stood on the hill, and my daughter held the pose for just a moment. She hates when I take her photo – but she’s so damn quirky and cute I can’t resist! I got down low to have only the sky for a backdrop. Her expression is actually more resigned exasperation with me than anything deeper. Somehow her signature stoicism works.

I played with the image in photoshop and liked the sky reversed, with darks where the whites had been. The blue sky turned the opposite on the color wheel, “marmalade” colored. The white outline is a remnant from the photoshop effect I was using, and since she was backlit in the original photo, I thought it was cool, and again, a bit surreal. The balloon was really blue, but the effect reversed that, too. It’s not meant to be realistic. I had just watched “John Lennon vs. the US” at the time and thought I’d add the words “War Is Over” to the balloon, as a flashback to the 1970’s and a hopeful premonition for today. “War is over Tuesday” may have worked as well ;) My daughter is an activist against the war and while she doesn’t like her likeness here, she does like the message.

The flowers on the balloon could be a reference to “cellophane flowers of yellow and green towering over your head” but that didn’t occur to me til today :)

My friends have been interpreting this piece in different ways. One wondered if the balloon is her hallucination. Another says the clouds are post-war colors. I like that.

~ A

"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds (War Is Over)" belongs to the following groups:

1 on 1: The Fine Art of Portraiture, BubbleMania, Current Issues, In the Moment, Inspired Art, Purple Haze and Realist Traditional Art

brianjarvis, 7 months ago

YOUR PORTFOLIO IS AMAZING…....GREAT TALENT.

I have a piece similarly titled…...without the diamonds.?

Great work.
modernlifeform, 7 months ago

yay! your on the front page :)

good work :D
Scott Ruhs, 7 months ago

Congrats on being featured on the home page! Well done! Excellent image!
Rudschinat, 7 months ago

intresting, love your work
Alice McMahon ..., 7 months ago

Wow! The RedBubble community is super fantastic! I’ve only been part of this for 3 days now, and I can’t keep up with the comments. Hope to thank each of you in person soon. You’re the greatest!
David White, 7 months ago

This is stunning , charmed by its beauty , great painting
dogbreath, 7 months ago

very nice! I thought this was painting at first… I like the composition and the post processing you have done.. and hey, I live near KSU… should I be worried?!
dogbreath, 7 months ago

ok i just looked agin… is this a painting based on a photo, or a photo with lots of photoshop artistically added?... either way, its very good!
Alice McMahon ..., 7 months ago

All hand painted with pastel on sanded pastel paper, from a photographic reference I shot of my daughter, with a photoshop filter. :) Thanks!
NervousNellie, 7 months ago

This is awesome work.
Al Bourassa, 7 months ago

Well done!
Sean Farragher, 7 months ago

fantastic work
Jena Ferguson, 7 months ago

wonderful color expression. I love the power of this shot
Mistie McDonald, 7 months ago

I really enjoyed ur whole album!!..your so very talented
Lisa Hill, 7 months ago

really beautiful! Did you create the piece in photoshop first then recreate in pastel?? Really powerful image x
Lisa Hill, 7 months ago

ooops forgot to say CONGRATULATIONS on front page heheh xxxx
pauldrobertson, 7 months ago

masterful, tender and human work. truly evocative and beautiful.
Lisa Kenny, 7 months ago

You’re gallery here is fantastic Alice ~ congratulations !
Antanas, 7 months ago

perfect
Alyson Pearson, 7 months ago

great work as always!
helene ruiz, 7 months ago

very nice!
Christophe Testi, 7 months ago

Amazing work!
ajreece, 6 months ago

Absolutely beautiful work!!! Love everything about this piece!!!
ninamsc, 6 months ago

WoW
kathywaldron, 6 months ago

great finish!
Ata Alishahi, 6 months ago

amazing work, I love your gallery :)
Mia1, 6 months ago

STUNNING. Very beautiful
Ciska, 6 months ago

congratz , amazing and beautiful
aspectsoftmk, 6 months ago

you do great work…quite the eye..
Matthew Thornburg, 6 months ago

I love pastels, and the Beatles, I viewed your whole space excellent!
micmac, 6 months ago

Fantastic portfolio you have ,brilliant work.Twice on home page ,you realy deserve it..bravo.
Leo King, 6 months ago

i really like this alot, has a deep meaning. How many views has it had?
Weshon Hornsby, 6 months ago

This is an absolutely charming piece of fine art. I love the composition and style of this piece. There is great depth and dimension in this piece as well….Great job!!!
Alice McMahon ..., 6 months ago

466 views as of today. 26 favoritings. I’ve been here a month. Is that good? Thanks everyone! My show is up right now, so have been too busy to be around much. Thanks for the kindness!
Birgitta, 6 months ago

Yep. It’s a good thing. :)
Terrific job here, and that’s an understatement. I feel so silly trying
to do this justice with my piddly words. You are gifted. ;)
Alice McMahon ..., 6 months ago

950! Views as of today?! What?
Walter Strength, 6 months ago

Wow Alice wonderful composition. Use of color is exceptional. I can see that you have had a good color theory class. I need to get back into my illustrations. I miss it.
amberafternoon, 6 months ago

Lovely work!
MEV Photographs, 6 months ago

Awesome art…beautiful message, well done!
paulevelin, 5 months ago

superb artwork
Alan Findlater, 5 months ago

very nice work well done
Carlos Teófilo, 5 months ago

You are fantastic. Congratulations.
Alice McMahon ... in reply to Carlos Teófilo’s comment, 5 months ago

Thank you Carlos! I’m amazed! :)
Anette Tyler, 5 months ago

Fantastic work
Rachel Aponte, 4 months ago

Beautiful work! You are very talented!
Alice McMahon ... in reply to Rachel Aponte’s comment, 4 months ago

Thanks Rachel. Back at ya!
David Earl Jo..., 4 months ago

Alice you are amazing! You’re art so speaks to me. A very unique talent you have. Thank You for all your wonderful support!
I am always transported to a happier hippier time ;~D
Alice McMahon ... in reply to David Earl Johnson’s comment, 4 months ago

Aw, thanks David. Great comment, and happy bubbling! You’ll be a natural here, with your beautiful combination of written word and images.
Irish, 4 months ago

Love this!
kcranmer, 4 months ago

Simply fantastic work!!!
Naturegirl, 4 months ago

Terrific Card …

One you can send overseas to a loved one…:)
Alice McMahon ... in reply to Naturegirl’s comment, 4 months ago

Haha! Thank you Naturegirl! Must figure out how to do that. Thanks for the PR. ;)
ToastedGhost, 4 months ago

Brilliantly handled
I fear working with pastels
well done
Alice McMahon ... in reply to ToastedGhost’s comment, 4 months ago

Thanks ToastedGhost. Like that name by the way ;) Pastel is a bit tricky at first, but I prefer it over any other medium. Sanded pastel paper is fantastic!
alan sloey(im..., 3 months ago

amazing portraits,...so lifelike
Alice McMahon ... in reply to alan sloey(imajica)’s comment, 3 months ago

Thanks for stopping by, and for the compliment and favs!
Deb Gillett, 2 months ago

Somehow I recognised that this is your daughter before reading the blurb. Love it! Curious to know if it reminds you of my work “Daughter Mine”- I think that was the mothering energy I felt straight away. Love your edginess.
Alice McMahon ... in reply to Deb Gillett’s comment, 2 months ago

Thanks Deb. I loved having the opportunity to paint her through all her artsy funky fazes. She wasn’t always thrilled at the time, but I think she kind of likes, at least respects, the series now. She’s going off to art school next year. I’m glad to have these paintings to keep me company ;) Heading over to have a look.
JOSEPH VALCOUR..., 2 months ago

a very hopeful work well done
Lynsye Lowy, about 1 month ago

This one has always been a favorite of mine! :)
Alice McMahon ... in reply to Lynsye Lowy’s comment, about 1 month ago

Thanks Lynsye! I appreciate you dropping in.