Irma

Instagram and Pinterest are my go-to sources for images of interesting people. These platforms allow us to peek into the lives of people all over the world ... people who may not look like us, think like us, dress like us. When I was little I would go with my dad to the mall near our house. We'd get a milkshake, sit on a bench and watch people walk by. My dad loved to guess about who they might be, where they worked, what they liked to do for fun. We didn't have a ton of money, so this was entertainment for us. Pre-Real Housewives, ya know?

It stuck with me. I love talking to people who don't look like me. I love to paint and photograph interesting characters, colorful people. So when I found this image of Kate Moss:

I had to paint her. But I also wanted to paint her my way.

Just so happens I began painting her on the morning that Hurricane Irma rolled into town. And basically, she sort of took on Irma's personality. She was askew, a hot mess, a little wobbly, windblown, rough around the edges, a little dirty. She was waaay more Peg Bundy than Kate Moss. Scott said she looked like "Tanqueray," a character from Beavis and Butthead.

I had to google it, but yeah, like that!

Here are my in-progress images so you can see how it unfolded:

Vine Charcoal drawing on acrylic red underpainting                      

Darkest darks go down first