Billie Holiday - Oil Painting

"Billie Holiday"  Oil Painting, 12"x12"

In 2012 I started a series I call "Remarkable Women" (dedicated to my daughter) and this painting is a continuation of that series. I used black and white photos for reference to paint this. Billie Holiday was such an innovative singer and came from a very rough childhood.

12' x 12" oil on gallery wrapped canvas that is x 1 1/2"deep.


“I never had a chance to play with dolls like other kids. 
  I started working when I was six years old.“
                                                                            -- Billie Holiday 
  
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Harris April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday influenced jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She had a very difficult childhood and had to grow up very quick. She was sexually attacked by a neighbor when she was only 11, taken into protective custody and placed at the House of the Good Shepherd. After she was released she went to work at a brothel. By the end of 1932 at the age of 17, Billie Holiday replaced the singer at a club on West 132nd Street. A producer first heard Holiday in early 1933 and arranged for Holiday to make her recording debut, at age 18, in November 1933 with Benny Goodman.

 “I never hurt nobody but myself and that’s nobody’s business but my own.” 
                                                                           -- Billie Holiday

Sally Ride - Digital Illustration

"Sally Ride"  Digital Illustration

I drew this mainly in Adobe Photoshop, then brought it into Adobe Illustrator where I traced and converted to paint, so I could color it, after that I then reworked it back in Photoshop adding graduated screening and a bit of shading.

In 2012 I started a series I call "Remarkable Women" (dedicated to my daughter) and still continue to add new portraits. About half the artwork for the series are oil paintings and the rest are digital illustrations. I make my own high quality archival prints with ink jet photo printers that use pigmented ink instead of dye based ink and print on high quality archival papers.

“All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.” 

                                                          -- Sally Ride

"Sally Ride"-- Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American physicist and astronaut. She grew up in Los Angeles and went to Stanford University with a double major in physics and English. Sally received bachelor’s degrees in both subjects in 1973. She continued to study physics at the university, earning a master’s degree in 1975 and a Ph.D. in 1978. She joined NASA in 1978 and, at the age of 32, became the first American woman to enter into low Earth orbit in 1983. She beat out 1,000 other applicants that applied for a spot in NASA’s astronaut program. After rigorous training, Sally joined the Challenger shuttle mission on June 18, 1983, and became the first American woman in space. She remains the youngest American astronaut to be launched into space.

Half Moon Bay Tree

" Half Moon Bay Tree"  Oil painting, 5"x 7"

This is a small 5" x 7" oil painting on board painting after a trip to Half Moon Bay along the Northern Calilfornia Coast.