selojspacovers

The Pink Man:
Jon Copeland

Meet the man behind SeloJ Designs, and take a look at his glorious eye candy!

Text By - Pat Henry
Photography By - Jon Copeland

Gold Digger's Vanity Fair cover was the very first one that I created.
I posted it on the Pink Parlor doll forum and received such an overwhelming repsonse that I decided to do more.

Gold Digger is a very prolific and well traveled lady.
She knows exactly what she wants and has the means to get it!

She's Dangerous!
Super Bad!
Better Watch Out,
She'll Take Your Cash!
She's a Gold Digger!

He is known on the internet as the "Pink Man". The name came from last year's IFDC, in fact. "During the course of the 2004 IFDC in Texas," says Jon, "I was gifted with a pink cowboy hat during one of our nights of fun at the hotel bar. Being the fun loving guy that I am, I went with this hat with gusto and it sort of became a mascot for me for the remainder of the convention. I even wore it to the next two meal events! By the time the convention came to a close, several friends had already dubbed me with the nickman 'Pinkie'. It stuck with me on the doll groups and boards even after we all returned home."

"One day, I was directed to the Pink Parlor doll forum and after a brief visit, I was hooked and decided to get involved. When it was time to choose a posting name, I typed in 'Pink Man' and boy did it ever take hold! I think it's fitting, and have decided to stick with it."

Tall and lanky, Jon Copeland has made a name for himself in the makeover world with his sexy sirens and vampy vixens. He recalls, "I dabbled here and there with the makoevers at first. Mostly big haired boil perms as well as drapping and pinning material on my favorite dolls. Somewhere along the way I evolved into a repaint artist and hair stylist. I have been doing the latter for the past five years. I find repainting to be the most rewarding part of the makeover process. However, I have an increasing interest in hair styling via razor cut styles. In the near future, I plan to incorporate re-rooting as well."

His makeover business is actually called SeloJ Designs. He created a series of magzine covers that showcase his creations under the title, "SeloJ Spa."

"The origin of the chosen name for my website is purely based on a 'terms of endearment' thing for me. I love both of my sisters dearly, but I have always had a very close relationship with my middle sister. We were inseparable playmates and she was my hero and the one person that I looked up to most in the world. The name SeloJ (pronounced Sa-lodge) is an intermingling of our first names Selena and Jon. The first three letters Sel from her name and the last two letters placed backwards oJ from my name. It really is something that I pulled from my childhood, as we were always being very creative."

Jon creates his magazine covers for his fantasy publication with Microsoft "Picture It", and some good old fashion desk lamps. "I use a double-bulb gooseneck desk lamp. The bulbs are the secret. I have heard and read many times about that 'dreaded yellow cast' that a lot of doll photos have. I use General Electric Reveal 60 watt light bulbs with enhanced color spectrum. You can find them at most department stores for around $6.00 for four bulbs. It's small price to pay for true color pictures. When it's time to take pictures I stand the doll about 4-6 inches from the light, with the bulbs being directly over the doll's head. This way I get good lighting from behind and in front of the doll without a glare on the top of the doll's head. Doing it this way also takes care of shadows on the doll's face as well as those that would normally be cast on the chosen background. For my backgrounds I use pages from magazines for full scenery. If I want something that will show off the doll, I go with a solid color or blended color background. To keep the doll in focus it is important to stand it at least 4-6" from the background and set your camera to the macro or close up setting for digital pictures."

Like many OOAK artists, Jon hopes to make his passion also his career. "My long-term goal is to make working with fashion dolls my full time vocation in some way or another. For the moment though, I am juggling my doll work with a full time night job away from home (I am in quality control at a local diaper maunfacturing plant). My partner and I are also rasing four teenagers, which is very demanding and rewarding as well". Ron, Jon's partner was working behind the scenes to move SeloJ Spa along as it turns out. "I owe the fact that I am doing the repaints that I am putting out today to him". He belived in me from the very beginning and secretly sold three of my early repaints on eBay. He simultaneously contacted Jim Faraone and got me into his 'Fashion Doll Makeovers Yahoo Group'. After all three of the eBay auctions had ended, Ron had me sit down at the computer and he pulled them up. I was amazed that they had sold and was very excited. Then he logged onto Jim's yahoo group and showed me that I was a member - by this time I was electrified. Finally he pulled up my very own website that he had been secretly working on and had several of my dolls already up for viewing. The tears flowed a little bit. I was able to learn a great deal about supplies and getting started on makeovers from the yahoo group and from Jim's fourth 'Makeovers' book. Through some trial and error, I have managed to come up with some of my own techinques and personal style."

Jon has learned from his own experience and has a few tips for the newbie who may want to take on a makeover themselves. "I like to use Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paints. They are very economical and easy to find. I'm a visual shopper and like to be able to actually see what I'm getting. This is why I buy most all of my paints from Walmart. I get to hand pick the paints and brushes that I use. Walmart carries a great little 10/0 spotter brush in their art supply department. I swaer by them. I do have to replace them more often than the higher quality variety, but I'm happy with the performance I get from them thus far." As to technique, he advises starting at the beginning. "Most of my repaints are full repaints with the entire face being wiped clean and being redone. Fashion Royalty dolls have become iconic for their unique look. I'm very careful in my approach to repainting these ladies. Most of my repaints here consist of removing everything except the eye liner. I simply preserve the shape of the eye and start from there. A more enhanced version of these dolls is accepted by the mainstream fan based instead of a dramatic change where the Fashion Royalty look is lost. I have completed full repaints on the FR dolls and found myself duplicating the FR look anyway. At any rate, the doll will not look the same when I've finished her. For all of my other repaints including the 16" variety, a full repaint is in order. For novice and beginner repainters I recommend that they paint over the existing factory paint so they can get a feel of how to do it. having an outline to follow will make it easier for them.

He is known for his1/6 scale ladies, and has added some 16" faces to his portfolio as well. But like most artists, he does have his favorites. "I have a few Barbies that will always remain with me for sentimental reasons, but they are not the focus of my collection at the moment. Fashion Royalty is the stronghold and jewels of my collection now. I have to admit to being completely smitten with these fabulous ladies. Adele is my favorite. Besides having all of the Fashion Royalty dolls that I can fit inside my doll cabinet, Robert Tonner's dolls are quickly gaining ground (thanks to an enabling friend). Sydney and Angelina are the focus for me in this category, with Esme' coming in a close third. I also have one Blythe doll and one Pullip doll in there too. Lustrous Silhouette Adele is the crown jewel of my collection. I love everything about Adele Makeda."

"Not to sound too cliche', but there really is 'Something for Everyone' for the vinyl doll collector today. Some collectors love the thrill of the hunt to complete a specialized line of dolls. While others collect only the dolls that they just have to have. There is so much to choose from that we should all be happy with the variety. We have Fashion Royalty, Rupaul, Tiny Kitty, Lollipops, Volks, Tyler Wentworth, Cissy, Gene Alex, Blythe, Pullips, Susie, Momoko, Ingird, Candi, Barbie, Elizabet and Kotalin Bizelle and now the amazing Sybarites. I for one am looking forward to seeign each new doll that is about to be unleashed. Who knows, it might be the next best thing. It might be Pink Man's turn someday with his own exotic beauty. until then, I'll be here plugging away, as this has become a way of life for me that isn't showing any signs of ending anytime soon."