Ay carumba! El Diablo of the Purple Hoo Hoo! I love painting dancers and so when I decided to paint The Cowboy taking a little R&R at a tavern, I needed the most perfect distraction. For me, that meant the fantastic Pearl Primus. Pearl could snake her legs around in midair like, well, a snake. So, when I painted The Cowboy entering the bar, this first thing in his face is Pearl’s incomparable tootsie and fab gam. I had painted for 12 hours building up contrast, detail and color intensity on her foot since it was the focal point of the painting.
Dizzy at the end, I simply turned the painting upside down to view my mistakes later. My son was coming home, so I busied myself with cleaning and shopping and cooking. When he finally came, we walked upstairs to see the painting and I stood still. I’d painted purple panties on the tavern dancer, hadn’t I? Hadn’t I? You see a lot of mistakes when you turn your painting upside down, and even though I was tired, I thought I was looking at a big one. I texted my daughter/partner in crime to come by and give me some feedback. Arriving the next morning, she looked and said with characteristic bluntness, “That’s a purple vagina.”
Not what I was going for. Back to the easel we go. I’ll post a photo of it when it’s done, but for now, it’s for too *unintentionally* graphic to share with you here. Oops!
Update: Pearl is somewhat more appropriate now and ready for sale. Check her out!