story behind the art – woodgrain profile series

Several months back i got the notion for this artwork. i love drawing tendrils and curves and curliques and wanted to do a stylized portrait series focusing on hair. For a long time, the idea was a bit fuzzy in my mind and i didn’t know exactly what i was shooting for. i started looking in magazines and catalogs for some inspiring hair angles and styles. Then it hit me. Duh!? Why hadn’t i started looking on etsy? i searched under “hair accessories” and “hippie” and “bohemian” and “organic” and lo & behold, my inspiration appeared on the screen. i came across the Mandizzle site and was smitten. i immediately wrote up a convo and explained what i was doing and asked permission to use the shop’s photos as my inspiration. Luckily, the shop owner had rights to the images and a very generous heart. She was excited! i whipped through 4 of these pieces in a matter of days. The spirit was in me! i had so many ideas for color combinations, how i would stain and layer transparent color onto the wood panels. i was falling asleep each night dreaming of what the hair ornaments would look like in my trippy, swirly style. When i was done the series, it felt so good.

i’ve had a lot of good response from this set, even sold one of the originals to a local Philly radio personality, and am talking with Miss Mandizzle herself about creating a custom logo for her business based on the drawings. Of course, she gets all the perks i’ve got to give. If it wasn’t for her amazingness, these pieces wouldn’t have been born in the first place.