One of these paintings was selected by a jury for a prestigious Manhattan show, and the other was rejected by another. It all depends on the judge, I know in my objective mind, but my subjective self wonders how and why. I see the strengths and passion that went into each.

In ‘Before Flight,’ I painted fashion designer Kristin Costa as her career gets ready to take off. Intensity of purpose and devotion to craft are traits of hers that I admire. She wears a bird mask from her collection based around fairy tales, and a dress designed to represent a B-52 from her collection entitled “Maintain Radio Silence.” She has packed her bag and is ready to go, with a little bird as her familiar in her right hand.

‘What’s Next’ was inspired in part by a notorious murder-for-hire in Atlanta of a socialite by her estranged husband. After years of investigation, prosecutors were able to link a pay phone call to him from the killer who dressed as a flower delivery man. My model, however, is fully prepared to answer the door and take care of herself.
That is the stance I best adopt to deal with the killer competition process!