Person with Kitten

Oil on panel
2017

I remember distinctly feeling how easy it was to create this piece. It was the painting equivalent of walking home after running around the football field with ankle weights. The painting just fell out of my brush effortlessly.

The original 1993 painting was inspired by a photo in a magazine of a homeless teenager. It was not evident if the person was a boy or a girl nor did it matter to me. I loved the painting very much but sold it shortly after I painted it. I liked the gritty way I painted it and the tough black and yellow pallet. Those qualities seemed perfectly suited to the subject of a homeless person adoring a kitten.

Later, when I started painting again after many years in 2017 I wanted to revisit it. Unfortunately I could not locate the woman who bought it. So, I found a photo of the original painting and created a second version inspired by the first one.