“A Charming Proposition”
24" x 30" Acrylic on Board

The inspiration for a painting can be derived from a multitude of different avenues. Folklore, Dreams, Fairy Tales. If this sounds familiar... I've written about these same inspirations before. But for lack of material I'm going to go there again. More times than not, the model is the inspiration for a new painting. One look and you know instantly what type of painting she
belongs in. Not to say that when I look at Michela I think 'SWAMP'. But there is a sweetness about her that didn't deserve the harder edge that exists in my 'Blonde & Gagged' series. CUTE came to mind. A send-up of the whole Prince Charming thing, this painting has a lot in common with a previous
piece; 'Monkey Business' featuring Roxanne Michaels. Whether it's the tongue-in-cheek quality of the damsel in distress or the romanticism of a first kiss, there is an underlying sweetness that easily connects with the more all-american style of pin-up that existed in the 50's and early 60's. Aw, Who am I kidding... I could put a half-naked girl in the middle of a New Jersey landfill and it would have the same effect. With the right model,
I could pull inspiration from the Yellow pages and make it work. I have an idea for a piece that plays on the theme of boy meets girl. Sounds romantic right? A great place to start would be the the classic Frankie Avalon,
Annette Funicello Beach Blanket Bingo movies of the 60's. Instead, I think I'll sit down and try to catch the 'Toxic Avenger' on late-night cable for the 50th time.

Model - Michela
I usually like to work with models who have TWO names. Shae Marks, Julie Cialini, Barbara Moore. But I made an exception here. All kidding aside, you might not recognize the name Michela... and you shouldn't. She's a local girl from my hometown who was introduced to me as someone who would love to see herself in one of my paintings. Because of my rise in popularity and recognition in recent years in the pin-up market. I've got about a half a dozen ex-girlfriends who would also love to see themselves in one of my
paintings. And that's not going to happen. But it's what Michela said to me during our first meeting that convinced me to work with her. She had no aspirations of being a pin-up model, didn't care if there was any fame or
money or recognition in it. But thought it would be a gas to be able to e-mail a copy of her painting and picture that appears alongside all the Playmates paintings to the guys in her past who wouldn't give her the time of day......"I'm down with that". Now I have a dilemma. It's my policy that when a model provides me the reference that produces a great painting.I do a second one. If it works once, it'll work again I always say. For Shae it's worked three times, for Lisann DeVaul five. Michela's happy with "ACharming
Proposition". But I think a few words of encouragement from some outside
pin-up art aficionados would do wonders to change her mind and influence her into doing a second piece.

You can e-mail Michela directly at:

[email protected]

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