The work in Painted Ladies, a series by self-taught artist Barbara Cole that we spotted over on My Modern Met, might remind you of a painting, but what you’re really looking at is a carefully manipulated Polaroid photo. Inspired by one of Lucien Freud’s large-scale portraits, Cole, who got her start as a fashion editor for The Toronto Sun, decided it was time to reexamine her approach to figurative portraiture using a SX-70 camera. The result? An incredible collection of images that change the way we look at the medium (obviously the subject matter doesn’t hurt the cause). As if we needed another reason to bemoan the death of Polaroid film. Click through to peruse some of our favorite shots from the series.
Barbara Cole, Mary-Eve, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Sparrow, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Courthouse Ladies, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Orientalist, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Twisted Fate, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Diner, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Without Pretense, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Swan, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Salted Ruins, from the series Painted Ladies
Barbara Cole, Still Waters, from the series Painted Ladies