Artist Bil Donovan

Dior Beauty recently named Bil Donovan as their very first Artist-in-Residence.  His duties will include illustrating at special events, consulting on new products and acting as a brand ambassador.  Donovan has worked at Vogue and Italian Elle and he also lived in Paris many years ago as a designer.  Currently, he teaches at the Fashion Institute of Technology here in New York, but he will always maintain an affinity for Paris.  French fashion journalist Charlotte Wiedemann interviewed Donovan on my behalf, and here’s what he has to say about his bohemian days in Paris, his style icons, and how his favorite place in New York is in a taxi…

Susan Tabak: Tell us about your time in Paris.

Bil Donovan: It was a love affair from the moment I set foot on the ground.  I always dreamed of going to Paris, [which is like] a Mecca and almost a rite of passage for artists.  The culture, history, fashion, romance, tragedy and style culminating in one place are fertile soil for the imagination and an endless source of inspiration.  All I needed was a sketchbook.  I drew in the cafés, restaurants, on the street and at fashion shows.  I remember attending Jean Paul Gautier’s show and drawing the attendees.  And documenting a fitting at Kenzo [as the master] finished his creations on the models…

Susan: Sounds like you loved it there…

Bil: It was wonderful.  I was living the via de bohemiem.  I lived in a loft with artists, designers, writers and anarchists.  It was an eye opening experience and I saw a side of Paris that was not privy to many.  I was also trying to find work with the agencies and magazines.  I did a cover for Passion Magazine, drawings for a trend report and worked on my art.  My schedule was pretty chaotic at that time.  I was also designing shoes and moving between Paris and the shoe factories in Italy while working on freelancing assignments from New York and also Milan, where I had spent the previous year working.

Susan: What were your favorite places in Paris??

Bil: I lived near place de la République, close to the Marais, and my favorite haunt at that time was Les Halles and St. Germain de Près. I would take up residence in a café, nurse a Calvados and draw the scene. I hit all the museums and sites.  I could not feign indifference and pretend not to be a tourist.  If there were a museum, monument or gallery, I would see it. Instead of a camera, I took my sketchbook.

Susan: What’s the difference between New York – where you are based now – and Paris?

Bil: The main difference is the energy.  New York literally has a pulse that beats 24-7 with art, creativity, culture and diversity. My favorite place in New York is in a taxi – I don’t know if I can say that about any other city.

Susan: What inspires you?

Bil: I have a fascination with the human figure: its form, function and ability to convey a multitude of nuances through a simple shift of weight or mannerism.  I love how light and shadow play and can be edited and used to convey an emotion or ideal.  A subtle glance over a shoulder, the fluid sweep of an evening gown, or the arch of a perfectly shaped eyebrow framing sensual red lips…these are the fleeting moments that hold me spellbound.  I use these moments to capture an essence of chic, glamour or beauty through a simple pose or gesture.

Susan: What kind of woman do you draw?

Bil: Understated elegance, chic and glamorous, with an undercurrent of sensuality veiled beneath the surface. Think Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief. It’s all there — she is smoldering beneath the surface.  What is not obvious is more intriguing than what is present.

Susan: What are your style icons old and new?

Bil: The muses of style and grace I romanticize [are from a] period before my time.  A period when beauty, grace and style were accompanied by a hat and gloves.  My all time favorite is Audrey Hepburn.  Then Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Dovima, C.Z. Guest, Marlene Dietrich, Harnett, and my first muse, Olive Oyl.  Current style icons are Cate Blanchett, Halle Berry, Louise Bourgeois, Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss, Isabella Rossellini, Angelina Jolie and Liya Kebede.

Susan: What exactly is your relationship with Dior?

Bil: As the Dior Beauty Artist-in-Residence, I will serve as an illustrator at select private events, consult on product launches and act as an ambassador for the brand.

Susan: What does the Dior house stand for?

Bil: Dior stands for enchantment, creativity, femininity and a sense of the spectacular. It encompasses all of the magic and indulgence of a true luxury brand.  There are few labels that can inspire that sense of the spectacular and creativity played against a backdrop of elegance and glamour, and none rivals Christian Dior.  The idea that I will have an opportunity as the first Artist-in-Residence for Dior Beauty to communicate that sensibility with brush and ink is a job one can only dream of.

These illustrations are some of Bil’s personal favorites.  To see more of Bil Donovan’s enchantingly beautiful work, visit bildonovan.com