Famous Women Portraits

What started out as a female response to Gerhardt Richter's 48 Portraits, quickly took on a life of its own. In 2011, I started painting 48 portraits of famous women as a direct response to Richter. Not only did I paint 48 famous women, but I expanded the number to 100. (more)

For each woman, I read a biography or when a biography does not exist, their Wikipedia entry. I review photos of the woman from various sources, picking the one that appeals to me, which often is not the traditional photo. Working with this photo I redact unnecessary accoutrements and background in an attempt to reveal the essence of the individual.