I'm very excited about this piece. It is based on a photo from the New York Times by Chester Higgins Jr. about an Ihop in Harlem and the big crowds that it draws on Sundays. Accompanying the article was a photograph of two ladies; I fell in love. They looked like two of the figures from my "Maenads" grown old, yet retaining their inimitable sense of style. It took a full week of drawing to rework the photo into a painting. I nabbed some condiments from the local diner (the waitress still gives me funny looks when I go in there now) got out my stash of diner china and set up the still life elements in my studio (the photo doesn't include the still life)

It took me a week of drawing to get all the sketches I needed. I hate to have to stop and work out drawing questions when I am painting so my recipe is this: solve as many problems as possible ahead of time, post the drawings by the easel for reference; paint freely.