Lindsay Walden hadn't had time to attend an art opening in years — not with three kids and a busy newborn photography business to run. But a chance visit to the Gustave Caillebotte exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, was just the spark of inspiration she needed to create newborn photos that are slowly taking the Internet by storm.
"The painter's use of leading lines, use of shadows and light were inspiring," Walden told SheKnows. "I was thinking about other art exhibits and how to incorporate some of this into my work."
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Walden took a look at the wool roving becoming increasingly popular with newborn photographers, and realized that with a little (OK, a lot of) work, she could turn simple fabric into famous works of art... the perfect backdrop for her newborn shoots.
To create the Starry Night image seen above, Walden turned to trusty Google to learn how to dye wool, and she began to create the colors she would need, fastening the dyed wool and deconstructed yarn to Bubble Wrap so she could roll and unroll her new backdrop. Next came Walden's interpretation of Monet's Water Lilies (she purchased fake lilies to complement the wool) and a version of Edvard Munch's The Scream, created with a little help from her three kids and a lot of smelly dye.
As she joked on her Facebook page, "... my husband for putting up with our home smelling like a petting zoo, dying [sic] wool roving smells awful." But the resulting backdrops are anything but.
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When she told other photographers of her plan, two quickly agreed to have their babies featured in the series:
Water lilies
The scream
The images have gotten an ecstatic response on Walden's business Facebook page, and she's now offering the backdrops in her regular newborn sessions in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. And she's not stopping there.
"I have several other paintings in mind [to re-create]," she tells SheKnows, "all classics that will make you say 'Oh my gosh, I recognize that!'"