2016 Year of the Starlet: Lucille Ball

So as I announced in October, 2016 is the year of the Starlet for aBeesCreations. Not only will I retire the artwork series from 2012-2015 from print, I will also be creating a whole new never before seen line of art work. I am also taking my love of producing and creative directing photo shoots to create a whole series of photos based on my 12 favorite Starlets! 
The talented photographer Dakota Friend of Friendly Fire Fotography out of Branson Missouri has agreed to shoot the entire series. We may occasionally have a second shooter with us but Dakota is the main photographer who is working on this project with me. 

So it being the 1st month of 2016, I am happy to share with you all the first photo session for The Starlet Collection.
I Love Lucy... What about you? 

Our muse was the funny and stunning model Beth Pace. She was the perfect choice for Lucy!
She had us laughing so hard with her quirky enthusiastic personality all day. At one point we all stopped for a moment and Dakota said it doesnt even seem like it was Beth. She really channeled the Queen of Comedy, the brash and sassy Lucille Ball. I am utterly amazed by her professionalism while still bringing the comedic edge that she did. Beth was absolutely amazing and I know everyone involved is looking forward to working with her again in the future. 

Often you see this term MUAH when we talk about photo shoots. MUAH stands for Makeup and Hair. And I am so honored that once again I was able to book the talented and genuinely sweet Krista Cronin of Krista's Beauty and Bliss out of Ozark Missouri.
Krista owns and operates a wonderfully charming small spa and studio. She has more than once opened her studio space up for my productions. She met us at the door as usual and invited us all in. Her hospitality made everyone feel at ease. She provided a fun mix of music for us while Beth hopped into the makeup chair. And yes Beth is so petite, like so many of us firecracker women are, that she had to HOP. Krista worked on makeup while we all just hung out and Dakota and I set up the studio. It was a lot of fun and felt like a group of friends just getting together to create some art. 

Dakota Friend of Friendly Fire Fotography and I set up Krista's Studio space and talked to everyone about music, art, and of course the industry. 
After MUAH were finish, I pinned Beth into her wardrobe. Yes I had to do a lot of pinning. She is so tiny!!! Like a Double 0 tiny. Which did make it difficult to find clothes for her to wear during the shoot. Especially since there were 2 wardrobes. But after some pinning she was ready! She had tranformed into the glamourous Lucille Ball. Well, Lucy with a modern edge. Dakota was energetic and full of creativity. I must say I am very proud to see the growth he has achieved since he first began shooting at the age of 13. He has finally found his style and at the age of 21, I can only see great things in his future as an artist.

Check out some of the photos from the Glamour part of the session. 

After we shot the Glamour side of Lucy we had to have fun. I mean you can't do a Starlet Photo Series without capturing the spirit and personality of the Starlet that inspired the shoot. Right? 
So we had to show the comedic genuis of Lucille Ball mixed with Beth's snarky edgy twist. 

Here are some of the photos from the Comedic part of the day. Trust me we have SO MANY more to edit and release that these will not be the only ones featured on this blog. But for now here is a sampling.

Be sure to follow my blog or facebook page to see more releases from this shoot as well as the next Starlets! 
What do you think? Did we capture the essence of Lucy?

What Starlets are you hoping made the list? 

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I appreciate hearing from you all. 

Update on the Fight For Humanity

My goal when I started the Fight For Humanity photo series was to finish up the series by May to get the calendar printed by September. I still have that hope but I have unfortunately hit some financial obstacles. I have been ill and I have had to reevaluate our financial situation. I just wanted to keep everyone who is following the progress of the series up to date. Thanks everyone

So far I have done 5 shoots of the 14 I had scheduled. 

War in Heaven

Models: Connie Chung and Jessica Green. Makeup by Krista Cronin
Concept, wardrobe and props by aBeesCreations
Photographer Dakota Friend

Pandora

Model Toni Globis (Necklace also by Toni Globis)
MUAH Kyle Mills
Dress The July Studio
Concept and Props aBeesCreations
Photographer Brian Martin
Set design Bil Deck

Osiris God of Death/ Fight For Humanity

Back in Spetember I had the honor of being a judge at the MAXCON cosplay contest. While there I met a great group of LARPers. Their group PHLARP had amazing weapons, wardrobes, and character development. As judges myself and the other 2 judges were so impressed with their OC (original characters) cosplaying that 3 of the PHLARPers swept the judging! 
After the contest I had the opportunity to talk to the 3 of them. They are so dedicated and so talented. I mentioned that I am always looking for models for some of my projects, mentioning the Fight For Humanity photo series. The guys were excited about maybe branching out to model. 
So when I decided to shoot Ares the Greek God of War and Osiris the Egyptian God of the Dead, I asked Jason Smith (Ares) and Aaron Metcalf (Osiris) if they would want to model for them. They quickly agreed. 
As they were traveling from Farmington Missouri, I choose to shoot in Lebanon Missouri. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding between the director of the land I had requested to shoot on so we got shut down within the first hour. (It happens)
So we moved to Springfield Missouri. Jason, Aaron and Jason's girlfriend Rachel were so wonderful and agreed to travel the additional distance with us. 
Our photographer for the day was Dakota Friend of Friendly Fire Fotography and our Makeup artist was Lexy Morrison, both of who both attended the Haunted House Clinic the day before. 

So I am going to write 3 blog posts about this day, this being the second one. Check out the Ares post here. We not only shot Osiris and Ares but also shot the LARPers having fun and shot Rachel in some great light. 

If you are in the Farmington/ Park Hills area in Missouri, please check out these guys and their LARPing group. And check them out on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/Phlarp/

Osiris Welcomes you to Death. 
Model: Aaron Metcalf
Makeup Artist: Lexy Morrison
Photographers and Photo Editors: Friendly Fire Fotographer and AJ Blanton
Concept, Wardrobe, Props: aBeesCreations 

Thanks Aaron, Jason and Rachel. 

Ares God of War/ Fight For Humanity

Back in Spetember I had the honor of being a judge at the MAXCON cosplay contest. While there I met a great group of LARPers. Their group PHLARP had amazing weapons, wardrobes, and character development. As judges myself and the other 2 judges were so impressed with their OC (original characters) cosplaying that 3 of the PHLARPers swept the judging! 
After the contest I had the opportunity to talk to the 3 of them. They are so dedicated and so talented. I mentioned that I am always looking for models for some of my projects, mentioning the Fight For Humanity photo series. The guys were excited about maybe branching out to model. 
So when I decided to shoot Ares the Greek God of War and Osiris the Egyptian God of the Dead, I asked Jason Smith and Aaron Metcalf if they would want to model for them. They quickly agreed. 
As they were traveling from Farmington Missouri, I choose to shoot in Lebanon Missouri. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding between the director of the land I had requested to shoot on so we got shut down within the first hour. (It happens)
So we moved to Springfield Missouri. Jason, Aaron and Jason's girlfriend Rachel were so wonderful and agreed to travel the additional distance with us. 
Our photographer for the day was Dakota Friend of Friendly Fire Fotography and our Makeup artist was Lexy Morrison, both of whom attended the Haunted House Clinic the day before. 
I want to give a big shout out to them both! 
THANKS

So I am going to write 3 blog posts about this day, this being the first one. We not only shot Osiris and Ares but also shot the LARPers having fun and shot Rachel in some great light. 

If you are in the Farmington/ Park Hills area in Missouri, please check out these guys and their LARPing group. And check them out on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/Phlarp/

This post is to showcase photos of
Model: Jason Smith as Ares
Photographer: Friendly Fire Fotography 
and AJ Blanton (Please see photos for the copy right mark)
Makeup Artist: Lexy Morrison
Concept, Wardrobe and Props: me AJ Blanton of aBeesCreations 
Swords provided by PHLARPer: Brandon Frazer

Stay tuned for Osiris post and the having fun post from the day. Thanks Jason, Aaron and Rachel. You were all great!

UPDATE: Check out the Osiris Post Here

Ma'at Egyptian Goddess Photo Shoot

My Fight For Humanity Photo Series continues with the Eygptian Goddess, Ma'at.
Ma'at represents balance for the human race. 
The day was a beautiful fall day in Branson Missouri.
The model, Sara White Pederson.
The makeup and hair: Kyle Mills
The dress made by Casey July of The July Studio 
Concept, Wings, Accessories by ABeesCreations 
Scales by artist Toni Globis 
Photographers on the day: 
Teresa Baker
Friendly Fire Fotography and 
myself. 

I love how this series is turning out. What do you think?

The Year of the Starlet

As many of you know I love creating Starlet Art. Pieces inspired by the classic Hollywood actresses of yesteryear. I sell the fine art prints in my Etsy shop. Some of my pieces are in museums and private collections all over the world. I have sent prints to over 12 countries and over 25 states. 
So with all the work I have done in the last few years with photographers and concepts, I decided that 2016 will be the Year of the Starlet! I will be producing a whole series based on some of my favorites.
I will have 12 classic Hollywood actresses that will inspire shoots. The talented Dakota Friend of Friendly Fire Fotography has agreed to be the official photographer for this production series. I have lined up a couple amazing MUAH artists to work on the project. I have my first model chosen and have casting calls for the next few that will be posted on my facebook page soon.

So be prepared to see some new and exciting posts in 2016!

Until then please enjoy a sample of some of my Starlet Art Prints. All of 2012-2015 series will be retired in 2016 so if you are interested in owning one of these prints you can message me, or buy directly from my etsy shop. THANKS

Heaven vs. Hell ... Fight For Humanity

 So it began with Pandora.

My photo series Fight For Humanity will mix religion, mythology, legends, and cultures from around the world to tell the story of the human race fighting  for its humanity and the salvation of the individual human soul. The idea is based on conversations I had with my mom my whole life but really became a vision of a whole photo series when my mom passed away from CHF on June 14, 2014. A few days before she passed we had our last deep soul searching conversation. This series is for her. 

Friday another one of my visions came to life. 

According to some religion scholars and texts when the creator gave humans souls and the right of free will, some angels became jealous. There was a great war in heaven where the angels fought. Ending in the casting down of the rebelious angels. I wanted to tell this story in my way. 

Here it is!

First I had to build my team.

My models: 

Connie Chung was my dark angel. She is a beautiful and talented model in the Springfield area. With her dark hair, and exotic looks she was perfect for my Hell angel.

Jessica Green was my light angel. She is getting back into modeling after being a model in her childhood. With her pale beauty she was perfect for my Heavenly angel. 

Thanks Jessica for stepping in after the first model had to cancel. After working with you and Connie I must say, I can not even imagine anyone else as my Heaven.

Models also did their own hair! SO TALENTED!

Make-Up Artist:

I recently met Krista Cronin. She is such a talented makeup artist who actually creates her own makeup. I told her about my idea and she loved it and wanted to be a part of it. She brought my ideas to life. Thank you.

Photographer:

Okay so I may be bias but I had to use one of the most talented photographers I know for this shoot. Dakota Friend of Friendly Fire Fotography was the only choice for this vision.

I created the costumes, props, and accessories for this shoot.

We went to Nathanael Greene Park and the Japanese Stroll Garden for our location.

We had everything we needed.

Let the shooting begin!

My Dark Angel

Concept, Wardrobe, Props: AJ Blanton
Models: Dark Angel Connie Chung, Light Angel Jessica Green
Makeup: Krista Cronin
Photographer: Dakota Friend

Concept, Wardrobe, Props: AJ Blanton
Models: Dark Angel Connie Chung, Light Angel Jessica Green
Makeup: Krista Cronin
Photographer: Dakota Friend

Concept, Wardrobe, Props: AJ Blanton
Models: Dark Angel Connie Chung, Light Angel Jessica Green
Makeup: Krista Cronin
Photographer: Dakota Friend

My Light Angel

Concept, Wardrobe, Props: AJ Blanton
Models: Dark Angel Connie Chung, Light Angel Jessica Green
Makeup: Krista Cronin
Photographer: Dakota Friend

Concept, Wardrobe, Props: AJ Blanton
Models: Dark Angel Connie Chung, Light Angel Jessica Green
Makeup: Krista Cronin
Photographer: Dakota Friend

Concept, Wardrobe, Props: AJ Blanton
Models: Dark Angel Connie Chung, Light Angel Jessica Green
Makeup: Krista Cronin
Photographer: Dakota Friend



Coexistence

The battle 

Thanks everyone who made this possible. Again my favorite photos will not be released until my calendar is printed in June 2016.

Pandora ... Fight For Humanity

If you remember I am developing a whole photo series, Fight For Humanity. You can read more about how this series came about here.

Monday, I saw my vision come to life. I am so excited to see the photos from it. I will be adding photos in this post as soon as I get them.

I assembled the team, thank goodness I have Fantastic friends who despite their EXTREMELY busy schedules, to be a part of my shoot.

When I decided to do Pandora, my first thought was my friend Toni Globis. Toni was my Pandora! I asked her and she not only agreed to be Pandora but to use her amazing talents to create a necklace for the shoot. 

Next I needed wardrobe... I mean Pandora needed clothes, or at least in my series she does. 

So I asked Casey July of The July Studio if she would like to design and create something for the shoot. Like always she came through for me. 

Hair and Makeup I decided to ask the young and veru talented MUAH artist Kyle Olive Mills. She is such a talented artist.

Now the photographers: I love Bil Deck of Square Peg Photography and he agreed to shoot it, and set up the location and set. 

Brian Martin who is an up and coming photographer rounded out our team!

Thanks to everyone who helped my vision become a reality!

Here are some behind the scenes photos of the day. 

Model Toni Globis, Wardrobe Mistress Casy July and MUAH artist Kyle Oliver Mills

Model Toni Globis taking a BTS selfie. Kyle did an excellent job on her hair and makeup. Headpiece made by me. 

Casey July adjusting the belt.

Lets check out how the material flows. 

As promised here are some photos from the photographers.

Model and Necklace Toni Globis,  Concept/Props/Headpiece by AJ Blanton, Wardrobe Casey July, MUAH Kyle Oliver Mills, Set design Bil Deck, Photographer Brian Martin

Model and Necklace Toni Globis,  Concept/Props/Headpiece by AJ Blanton, Wardrobe Casey July, MUAH Kyle Oliver Mills, Set design Bil Deck, Photographer Brian Martin

It has begun... Fight for Humanity

As you may remember I have been mulling an idea, based on the last deep conversation I had with my mom, over.  You can read about my inspiration here. 

I have decided to take the steps to create a photo series based on the Fight For Humanity.

In the beginning of the creation of man, the creator favored man over all creations. Giving man the unique ability of freedom of choice. None other were given this ability. This caused a great rift between those who were happy with their existence and those who wanted more.

However, what was seen by many as a privilege and favoritism was actually plagued with its own issues. For with free will comes temptation, sin, redemption, virtues and a constant struggle for humanity and the salvation of the human soul. 

Since Ancient times the human race has tried to explain the struggle through religion, folklore, legends, and myths. Reaching for understanding and knowledge while wanting to prove that the human soul did not end with death. 

AJ Blanton’s Fight for Humanity series is the story of this struggle as seen through different cultures and religions from around the Ancient world. 

It will begin with 2 photo shoots on September 14 and October 2. 

Pandora will open the box on September 14 and the angels will be divided in a great war on October 2. 

I will have over 20 shoots scheduled between October and May. Be on the look out for some sneak peeks and early releases. 

Some photos (my favorites) will not be release until I publish the calendar next June.