Big Eyes
This is the film I'll be working on next!
Pretty cool uh?
I thought so too!
Enjoy,
E.C.
Margaret Keane (born 1927) is an American artist. She is an illustrator and painter, and mainly draws women and children in oil or mixed media. Her works are instantly recognizable (although often imitated) from the doe-eyed children that are depicted in the drawings.
Biography
Margaret D. H. Keane was born 1927 in Tennessee, a state in the Bible Belt. Margaret herself attributes her deep respect for the Bible and inspirations of her artwork to the relationship with her grandmother. She eventually became one of Jehovah's Witnesses, which she said changed her life most definitely for the better.
In the 1960s, Margaret Keane's artwork was sold under the name of her husband of the time, Walter Keane, her second husband. Many reasons might be put forward to explain this, but it was also one of the reasons they divorced. Not wanting to relinquish the rights to the artwork, Walter and Margaret's divorce proceeding went all the way to Federal court. At the hearing, Margaret painted in front of the judge to prove her point. Walter declined to paint before the court, citing a sore shoulder. In 1965, the courts sided with her, enabling her to paint under her own name.
Her works while she was living in her husband's shadow were dark and sad, but after the divorce, moving to Hawaii, and becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses she started painting in a much happier and brighter style. Many galleries now advertise her work as having "tears of joy" or "tears of happiness".
Currently Margaret makes her home in Napa County, California. She will be portrayed by Kate Hudson in the upcoming film Big Eyes.
Excerpt from Wikipedia.com
Here's some of Margaret's paintings--->
Margaret Keane
My Life as a Famous Artist
Originally printed in the Magazine *** AWAKE 1975***
YOU may have seen a painting of a wistful child with unusually large and sad-looking eyes. Quite likely, it was one I painted. Sad to say, I was as unhappy as the children I painted. I grew up in the southern part of the United States in the region often referred to as the "Bible Belt". Perhaps it was this environment, or my Methodist grandmother, that instilled in me a deep respect for the Bible, although I knew very little about it. I grew up believing in God, but with a lot of unanswered questions. As a sickly child, often alone and very shy, I developed an early talent for drawing. An inquisitive nature led me to wonder about the purpose of life, why we are here, why there are pain, sorrow and death, and if God is good. Always Why? These questions, I believe, were later reflected in the eyes of my paintings of children and, in part, account for their worldwide appeal. The eyes, always the focal point, were often described as soulful. They seemed to reflect the spiritual alienation of most people today their longing for something beyond what this system offers. My road to popularity in the art world was a rocky one. There were two wrecked marriages and much mental anguish along the way. Controversies surrounding my private life and the authorship of my paintings resulted in international wire stories, lawsuits, front-page pictures and even headlines. For many years I had allowed my second husband to take credit for my paintings. But one day, unable to continue the deception any longer, I left him and my home in California and moved to Hawaii. After a period of depression and very little painting, I began trying to rebuild my life and later married again. One turning point came in 1970 when a newspaper reporter arranged a televised paint-out between me and my former husband, to be held in San Francisco's Union Square to establish the authorship of the paintings. I was the only one(...)
Read more @ http://besmirched.tripod.com/margaret.html
For more about Margaret Keane visit:
http://www.keane-eyes.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Keane
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1126590/