You've seen Victor Mascaro's brilliant art work in the Jean Harlow: A Dream in Color video, and many of you have sent me emails about how much you appreciate his talents.
So I thought it would be fitting and fun to spotlight Victor here on the blog so you can learn more about him and his creative process. Victor has been a long-time Platinum Page contributor, having sent me images to share on the main page gallery, some dating back about ten years.
Victor's main subject is Jean Harlow, but he has also done colorization of images from The Wizard of Oz. Be sure to visit his web site, Celluloid Legends in Color, to see additional samples of his work. He also sells prints on Ebay, at affordable prices, so be sure to also visit his store there, too. His tool of choice? Paint Shop Pro!
Having known Victor online for so long, I had the pleasure of actually talking to him on the phone for the first time recently. What fun! He told me that his archive of colorized Harlow photos numbers over 300 and counting, and that it takes him about 2 hours to complete a photo when it's Jean alone, in a studio pose with minimal background, and 3-4 hours when the image is more detailed, like a scene still. I find this completely amazing as I would have guessed it would take days to accomplish. But this just goes to show you what talent and experience brings to his game.
Choosing a favorite photo is like asking an artist which child he loves best, but I did it anyway. He told me that one that stands out in his mind is the Clarence Sinclair Bull portrait featured in the video, because he feels the tones are very realistic.
Victor also kindly supplied a copy of another favorite in his collection, which he recently completed, of Jean in a green velvet dress and coral belt. One of the reasons this is so special to him is because he got the colors correct thanks to the generosity of Harlow historian Sandy Arcieri, who owns the belt. She sent him a series of photos of the belt so that he could get each coral piece, as well as the green velvet, spot on.
To get into more detail about his work, I asked Victor to do a Q & A with me, which he kindly agreed to. He also sent me samples of his work for display here on the Platinum Page, which you can now see exclusively in the Victor Mascaro Gallery. Enjoy!
When did you start colorizing photos?
I started colorizing photos almost as soon as I had access to a computer. That was about 1994. It was kind of a progression from what I loved doing as a kid. I would take old movie photos from books and use colored pencils & pastels to turn black & white photos into color. I loved color and I loved old movies. So to see images of my favorite stars in color was a dream. Jean Harlow, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe were the ultimate movie stars for me.
I was known in school as "Victor the Artist." Kids used to want me to draw for them all the time. I began college as an art major. I was accepted into all the top NY schools. I almost made it my career, but became side tracked with a good paying retail job at the time. It sounds crazy looking back. But I was just finding myself at the time. Besides, I never really wanted to make art a "job." I kind of wanted to do it on my terms. As fun and for pleasure. I guess it is self indulgent. But I couldn't enjoy doing it on command if the mood didn't strike me.
Why Jean Harlow?
I fell in love with Jean Harlow when I was 14 years old. Of course my parents knew what an old movie fan I was. I would always draw movie stars! So they took me to see That's Entertainment in the theatre. I had always loved Judy Garland as far back as I could remember. Her being a top MGM star was a big draw for me to see That's Entertainment.
I loved it all, but when I saw this white haired girl burst on the screen "singing": What will you ever be? What will you ever do? How will you know if you don't take a chance? from Reckless I freaked out! "Mom, who is she?!" I asked; "The Marilyn Monroe of the 1930's" was her way of describing her. I was sold! That platinum blonde hair, those big bright eyes with those crazy long lashes! The pencil thin eyebrows. They way she moved was so sensuous, but awkward and unique.
Now I had to have more. I came home from the movie grabbed the TV Guide and thumbed through looking for her name in movie listings. The first movie I got to see was China Seas. It was on about 2AM! But I set my alarm to watch her. She was a mega star! Tough, but adorable. Sexy, but almost by accident. Made-up to the hilt, glamorous, but down to earth and warm!
I hit the library to get books on her. I bought books on her. I went to memorabilia shows to collect photos and magazines with her image on the cover. I was obsessed with finding out everything about her. She had such magic. I felt as if I knew her. But as I was to discover, my now favorite star was almost never photographed in color. The color footage from Hell's Angels was still lost at that time. There were only a handful of color magazine cover shots. And no color photos of her with her platinum blonde hair!
I longed to see her beauty in living color! So the colored pencils and pastels came out. Then years later the Paint Shop Pro program on my PC. I was able to do more on the computer than I was ever able to do by hand. The results were so much more satisfying.
How has colorization technology evolved over the years? The photos now are even more lifelike than earlier versions.
The colorization process basically has not changed. It's just the more you do something, hopefully, the better you become. I find I have taught myself new techniques as I gone along. It's trial and error. The biggest improvement I have made has been with layering. Isolating sections and layering them on top of other layers and so on. Then blending them together. This has seemed to bring new life to my work.
Friends have also been very helpful with their input along the way (thank you to my partner Michael & my friend Darrell.) I am always open for improvement by critique. Without positive criticism I don't think anyone can move to that higher level. I also try to challenge myself to make each new colorization better than the last. To make Jean look more "real."
Responses I've seen from Harlow fans has been extremely positive to the artwork. Could you tell me about reactions you've gotten from your clients?
It is so gratifying to hear the positive reactions to my work. I have so many repeat customers who seem as obsessed as I am to see Jean in glowing color!
It's also so much fun to hear from collectors who own pieces of clothing or items worn by Jean. They let me know the actual colors as they appeared in life. Sometimes I'm on the mark with my color choices and sometimes I am surprised by the true colors. Usually if they do own these pieces, they want the colorized photo for their collection.
The colorization of Jean's 1932 Packard was a big hit with the man who owns it now and his friends. I think I must have made up at least about 8 different sized enlargements of Jean showing off that car.
Do you see this trend continuing? Ted Turner tried to colorize films, to mixed response and the fad eventually faded. Still images seem to be a different story, any thoughts on that as an artist?
I happen to have enjoyed what Turner did with some of the old movies. When I saw China Seas in color, wow! You can imagine how thrilled I was. I would love to see all of Jean's movies in color. It's not like the originals will be ruined. It's still there in black and white for the purists.
I actually have a dream to colorize as many of her movies as I can myself since Turner has given up. It's not impossible. There is a home program that will enable the colorization of moving pictures. That will come with my next PC purchase. For now the still images are fulfilling a desire to have Miss Harlow in color. As long as there are fans who can appreciate these colorizations I will continue to do them.
Your Wizard of Oz work is gorgeous as well! How/why did you choose that subject?
First, thank you for the complement. I think The Wizard of Oz is what drew me to color in the first place! The entire Technicolor dream sequence is so fantastic! Oh man, as a two year old I was riveted to the TV! And every year after, you could not even speak to me while the movie was on. The excitement knowing it was coming on was beyond words. The colors in that movie were unlike any I had ever seen. I was a fan immediately.
So whenever I come across a photo from Oz that isn't in color, I do my best to colorize it. Judy Garland was an amazing talent. Like Harlow, Judy's home studio was MGM. That really was the Dream Factory. I now have my own little Dream Factory turning out color photos of my favorite stars of the past.
He summed it up best when he said the color brings life to Harlow and makes her real. That was my first comment, too.
Posted by: Harry Martin | June 20, 2008 at 02:00 AM
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