I started a new canvas last night. It’s about 6′ wide. I only had a gallon of blue and a gallon of flesh colored paint and some graphite in the studio, so I didn’t get much more than an initial layout for the painting. I referenced photos of Katy and the kids that were on my iPhone. I thought for sure it’d be better to print out the photos and work from them, but I was settled into the studio environment and didn’t feel like going back to a computer. I actually liked drawing from the iPhone. I’m imagining black butterflies, birds, spiders and ants (possibly) coming out of my back. That’s where I had melanoma a decade ago. Katy was there and healed me with her good cooking and good loving. In this image she’s making the cancer come out. She uses butterflies in a lot of her work, so I’m trying to use those butterflies to as part of Katy’s character in the portrait.
