She Has Silver Hair In The Moonlight
2008 - 11"x12" Acrylic, colored pencil, on wood.
Finished with two coats of Krylon Matte Finish #1311
(Available - Inquire for pricing)

March 2008

There was a previous painting underneath this that went nowhere, but this one came together pretty quickly. As always, I don't see images in my head, but see them in the painting. I drew in the hair and face, so it immediately became a female. I had recently looked at some artwork by artist Lori Earley. I really admire her artwork and the way she paints women. They tend to have elongated necks and the hair always looks amazing.

I would have drawn a female figure if I had the ability, but since I don't, I simply drew what I could. The hair, head, and neck was as far as I could go, so instead of a human body, I used an animal body. It's similar to the deerbirds from a previous painting, with the tattooed body.

The moon was painted in next and then Manhattan and Brooklyn along the top edge. I experimented with adding in a little African warrior on her back and in front of her, but it detracted from her being the focus of the painting. The only other addition I made was adding some newspaper and painting it black to add a little texture and break up the solid black background.

I wanted the hair to really stand out, so I used an exacto knife and etched into the wood. You can see the detail in the photo below.