My painting is definitely changing. I seemed to have turned a corner somewhere, and now all I want to paint is girls. Boys just don't seem to interest me as much these days (artistically speaking).

Recovering from an exhausting month of travels and painting, today I amused myself with Fashion Television re-runs. One episode showcased the work of French photographer Bettina Rheims (whose photographs I've posted here). Her work is amazing. Portraits of the feminine, they exude the complexities of female sexuality and desire. The more I looked at her work and heard her speak about it, the more I wanted to pick up my camera and take photos of my own. I was fascinated to read that once Francis Bacon had achieved commercial success, he began to commission photographs from a professional photographer so he could specify particular poses and expressions that he wanted to use in his paintings, giving him more control than he had with the reproductions he so often used as sources. As I find myself increasingly occupied with the figure and particularly interested in portraiture, I am wanting more and more to create my own images. The technical challenges involved in such a venture overwhelm me at the moment, but there must be a way. It may dramatically alter the subject matter of my work, but perhaps not. I guess I won't really know until I try.