My newest painting "River of Joan" is greatly inspired by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch and also by my fascination with Joan Rivers' surgically enhanced face. It all started a few weeks ago when a friend sent me a close-up photo of the wonderfully venomous Ms. Rivers. I stared and stared, trying to get my head around what she's done to her face. Her cheeks appear over-inflated, pillow-like, and nearly ready to burst, her facial skin is impressively stretched beyond its limits, eyes are coal black and cat-like, her hair is sleek blonde with carefully groomed wisps sprayed firmly into place. In order to attempt an understanding of her face, I began painting her portrait. Several weeks later, this is the end result...and yet I've reached no further understanding. I'll go ahead and say it though, I think she looks great - but I tend to gravitate toward the strange and unusual.
Each character appearing in the painting was done separately and later added to the scene. This allowed me to move elements around and play with composition.
Devil Joan emerges from an acid lake to attack Bjork because she doesn't like the swan dress the quirky songstress wore to the Oscars. Luckily for Bjork, her swan hissed and chased Devil Joan back into the caustic depths of her hellish lair.
A fish commonly found in the River of Joan. It feeds regularly from the gurgling Fountain of Botox.
Yes, that's Laura Flynn Boyle holding a duck.
The true secret to Joan's flawless visage. Medium: Digital painting created on Cintiq 12WX. Prints available soon.
