Studibaker Hawk - Portrait of designer Janelle Miles

I have chosen to paint Janelle Miles, designer of the incredibly iconic Studibaker Hawk fashion label that was synonymous with the Sydney fashion scene in the 1980s.
Janelle is shown sitting alongside two of her designs from this period, with herself wearing the iconic 'Spider' dress in its distinctive signature style, consisting of an original metallic hand-screened print, with an extravagantly sculptural silhouette involving metres of fabric cut into tiers with padded and wired hemline. Studibaker Hawk with its bold and extravagant designs, was one of Australia's most successful and enduring fashion labels with Janelle as designer.
Janelle is shown seated alongside her wooden horse sculpture, referencing her passion for horses and her current career as an equestrian apparel designer.
Reserved and elegant in her manner, design and pushing boundaries runs deep within Janelle's creative choices, even down to the mismatched quirky shoe choice chosen for the sitting.

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Awarded the Sir William Dobell scholarship by the Julian Ashton Art School in 2015, she completed her full time scholarship, receiving a diploma of Fine Art in 2016. Jessica has been selected as a finalist in several art awards and participated in select groups shows. Most recently Jessica was the winner of the Bluethumb Art Prize - still life category 2023.
With a previous career in fashion design and production, and with an emphasis on portraiture and still life, her knowledge and passion for fashion, design, and detail are woven into her artistic sense and subject matter, working collectively to inspire her work.