Anok

 

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a portrait of Anok Yai, a model, in preparation for a narrative figure painting featuring her that I've got in mind as part of my "bird girl" series.  Can't wait to do that one!

Poor Little Rich Girl

 

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"
SOLD

This is a rough portrait study of Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol's muse and star in a series of short films he produced and directed, one of which was titled, "Poor Little Rich Girl."  Edie herself was born into a wealthy ranching family in Santa Barbara, California.  Around the age of 20, she made her way back East and eventually to New York City, where she found work as a model and met Andy Warhol.  Sadly, she suffered from mental health problems, and died at the age of 32 of a drug overdose.

Of Beauty and Bravery

oil on panel, 12" x 9"

This is an alla prima portrait of Waris Dirie, a Somali model and activist who was the subject of the film "Desert Flower."  I saw that film some years ago and had nightmares over it.  The subject matter was, essentially, female genital mutilation (FGM), a horror that was visited on Waris at the age of 5.  As a teenager, she fled her homeland, scraped by in England for a while, and was eventually saved by her beauty, forging a very successful modeling career.  Later, she opened up about her early childhood trauma, helping to bring the issue of FGM out into the open.  Her bravery is simply staggering.