Today I started a portrait of Marilyn Monroe, and I started by first painting her mouth. (Note: the reason the canvas is pink is because I painted over another failed attempt to paint Barbie... She is giving me a lot of grief.) Then I added just a few strips of text to see how it looked. So far, I am pleased with this.
For example, my husband is a big fan of Audie Murphy and has suggested, several times, that I include a portrait of him. Now, I have already painted Murphy as the Youth in Red Badge of Courage, but the suggestion insists that he should be created from To Hell and Back and dressed in his uniform with all of his medals in evidence.
I have not told my husband, David, but this will undoubtedly become one of the faces in the series. Note that in a recent edition of our city's local paper, there was an article about an East Texas man named Onclo Airheart, who fought alongside Murphy and was also highly decorated. The article lists his many honors, and states that "after the war, Airheart was content to return to a life of farming in the Trinidad area. According to several sources, he was offered a chance to appear with Murphy in the movie To Hell and Back, which depicts the exploits of Murphy and his men. Airheart declined because the movie was to be shot during planting season." Maybe it is a stretch, but I saw some glimmering parallels in the lives of the people discussed in today's blog in that it is interesting how some rise to fame, while others who live similar lives do not. |