While visiting Los Angeles, I decided to head over to a swanky shopping center near Beverly Hills and partake in some people watching. Sitting on a sunny bench with my chihuahua, we watched the glittering parade of characters unique to the neighborhood: the Lisa Vanderpump clones shopping the pricey boutiques, frantic talent agent assistants on rushed lunch breaks, studio execs wearing flashy watches the size of dinner plates, gawping tourists looking for celebrities...and then I saw her.
Strutting down the sidewalk in over-the-knee shiny black stiletto boots was a seasoned woman proudly displaying her robust camel toe in shorts so tiny that they must have been developed by NASA for anti-gravity missions in deep space. How such a small amount of fabric could hold such dense mass was beyond me. A transparent top was worn braless under a sheepskin-like coat and a platinum Kate Gosselinesque helmet seemed to be lacquered atop her head. Her rhinestone belt, jewelry and shiny boots reflected the blinding LA sun in glittering flashes. There was no way this woman would go unnoticed and she knew it. She looked to be in her late 50's and was dressed like a 20-something heading to the hottest new club. Do I A.) lament the loss of elegance and class while judging her as one of those desperate, attention-starved women who insist on dressing far too revealing for their age, or do I B.) celebrate her because she has the balls to go out in public like that and doesn't give a crap what anyone thinks? The answer is B. Medium: graphite in moleskin sketchbook, digital paint)
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