Tiaras and Halos (Acrylic, on 3x3 inch Wooden Panel)

Your Emerald Comb (Work in Process), Acrylics on wood, Kate Swartz 2014

This is the first of many stand-alone pieces that feature headpieces and jewels (or as we pronounce them in my house, jewelles). The idea of the series is that you can stand in front of these pieces and it will look like you are wearing the head piece. Originally, I came up with the idea using halos, which I identified as awesome at a recent Getty Villa exhibit. 

Here's the thing about halos. They are all different, regardless of the time periods or artistic style of the day, every depiction of halo differs depending on the painting. Most are round and gold, but some are just fine blue lines. Some are filled with swirls, Jesus had one made out of angels (go figure). Did you know when two saints are painted right next to eachother, their halos will blend into one another?

Here's the problem with halos, there are a million other amazing head pieces that are much cooler than halos. 

So this was my process...

Halos > Elizabethan Whisks (a stiffened half-circle collar with a tall stand, think Queen Elizabeth collar) > Emerald tiaras (so I wouldn't just get Forever 21 tiaras) > Japanese headdresses > Jewel illustrations (in order to figure out how to paint jewels) > Hawaiian headdresses.

While I was sleeping last night I realized I should focus also on fancy head combs