Here’s Prince as Santa Knows. This was done in Columbus Georgia a couple of years ago. I had an amazing studio there for a short time … Columbus is a great art town, and I received a commission to paint a series of southern musicians. Prince was a commission from my friend, Sheri Baker … we share many interests, notably a love of Prince and Woody Allen. In fairness, Sheri is much more knowledgeable about these artists’ work than I am … she is an absolute fountain of Prince intel.
So when I started working on the image, I couldn’t come up with any ideas for the background …. actually I came up with lots of ideas, but none seemed worthy of my subject. I posted an in progress image on facebook, asking for help, and Ann Tracey, a great friend and brilliant copywriter came up with Purple Snow. Genius, right! The execution took some figuring … I wanted the snow to be as intricate and rich as Prince’s music. And looking at the painting this morning, with the perspective of time, I’m satisfied. Sure wouldn’t want to paint those ice crystals again … once is enough for that.
