Portrait of a Bond Girl fan art

nikita

I couldn't think of anyplace else that might appreciate my attempt at 007 tribute art :x

The backstory: I rewatched all 23 Bond films recently (and saw the 24th for the first time). This led me to a Google search of Bond images, just for fun. And I discovered a really neat blog: Illustrated 007 (http://bit.ly/1n72Na9). It was very enjoyable to go through the entire blog starting with the latest posts and working back to 2008. But one thing was glaringly obvious: women are objectified to an extreme in the marketing for James Bond. Which can be a "duh" moment. But the imagery is so beautiful and cool.

However, as a feminist Bond fan, I happened to know that while some women are not much more than objects in a 007 movie, many of the Bond girls are three-dimensional characters. The imagery of the Bond franchise, though, leaves many people with the impression -- if they haven't seen many/any/all of the films -- that that's all women are in Bond, objects. And I know that's not the case. I've seen every Bond film multiple times.

So inspired by Illustrated 007, I decided to try an art project dedicated to the Bond girls, but focusing on their agency. I wanted to go beyond the obligatory bikini cheesecake.

I focused on seven of my favorites.

Remember, I Know All About You


I Don't Want To Be Safe


They'll Be Able to Sleep Now


You Think You Can Break Me?


I Promise You, You Won't Either


I Know Me


I See the Intervention of a Woman


Larger versions of the pix as well as more details available at http://bit.ly/1XWUDjL

canoe2

This is difficult for me. I feel like anything I say could be interpreted as "giving permission" or "validation" for you to continue your project, which I know you neither need or want. But you posted here, so I'm going to assume you want some feedback.

I think your work is a very interesting and valid reaction to the Bond marketing of the last 50+ years. The art is not exactly my taste (I prefer photography, so please don't take it personally ), but as a concept, I believe there is a lot to explore. One of the things I like about the Craig era is the way "Bond girls" were represented in both the films and the advertising; I do believe that the character of Vesper helped turn the page permanently on the traditional portrayal, but I also think that the character of Natalya deserves more credit than she gets .

I really hope you move forward and create more works on this theme; I for one would enjoy seeing more! Thanks for sharing!

Chriscoop

I like these, they are interesting, I think largely the bond female characters do get sidelined, for me camille was one of the most interesting female bond characters, I would have liked more of her female agent character.

The Bond Experience

Really enjoyed these, and more so knowing the inspiration and aspiration around it. Please do continue!

nikita

@canoe2
Thank you for your feedback! Natalya is one of my absolute favorites as well. I wanted to do a portrait of her but haven't come up with a concept yet.

@Chriscoop
I appreciate your reply! I love Camille. QoS doesn't seem to have a good reputation, but it's high on my list of favorite Bond films -- and I think that's because Camille is such a strong character.

@The Mantis
Your reply means so much to me. Many thanks! You are a famous 007 fan in our house. We've seen you in magazines and on TV! Love your site, too.

Bond Collectors' Weekends

Very interesting. Loved the colors and styling on the High Priestess piece.

superado

Bond fan passion=beautiful art...we are kindred spirits...I love it!

nikita

@Bond Collectors' Weekends
Thank you!

@stag
Cheers! It really means so much to know what Bond fans think of the series.

@superado
I'm so grateful for your feedback!

BOFFER

I love them. Well done you.

nikita

BOFFER wrote:

I love them. Well done you.

Thank you! It makes me so happy to get feedback from ajb007 members ;% These pieces were made for you (and myself )

James Brosnan

These are fantastic! I love the titles. The bleeding ear for Electra is a very cool touch, like secrets kept that can't help but being obvious at the same time. You really captured the tortured soul, the friend, and the indifferent beauty of Camille, which I appreciate because she is one of my favorite Bond girls. I noticed your main picture is the bullet encased, flaming heart. That is very interesting images. What made you come up with that? Honestly, you captured the essence of each Bond girl perfectly with the imagery you chose. Fantastic work. As an artist myself (mostly pencil and prisms color) I like seeing things like this very much.

nikita

James Brosnan wrote:

These are fantastic! I love the titles. The bleeding ear for Electra is a very cool touch, like secrets kept that can't help but being obvious at the same time. You really captured the tortured soul, the friend, and the indifferent beauty of Camille, which I appreciate because she is one of my favorite Bond girls. I noticed your main picture is the bullet encased, flaming heart. That is very interesting images. What made you come up with that? Honestly, you captured the essence of each Bond girl perfectly with the imagery you chose. Fantastic work. As an artist myself (mostly pencil and prisms color) I like seeing things like this very much.

I appreciate your reply so much! Especially since you are an artist as well. (Do you have a DeviantArt profile or similar? I'd love to see your work.)

The bullets and the flaming heart idea traveled a sort of long road LOL I wanted fire to be the main motif with Camille, not only because of her past but then the climax at the hotel. My initial concept was her hand over her heart, a gun in that same hand, with flames rising from the top of the gun. But I didn't like the idea 100 percent. I kept mulling it over for a long time, and then the idea hit me of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Plus, Camille's from Bolivia, which is a very Catholic country.

So I decided to do a sort of "Sacred Heart of Camille." The heart was important to me, as it represents her family. I originally wanted tiny guns surrounding the heart (sort of like the thorns that are sometimes depicted with the Sacred Heart of Jesus), but they didn't work out. I'm so glad the bullets come across as bullets, though! I was worried about that ^^;

Thanks again! Your post made my day a lot brighter :x

nikita

stag wrote:

Nikita. I'd like to see you do your own take on a Bond book cover. An IF title preferably - TSWLM?

Ooh, that's an intriguing idea ::arched eyebrow::