(Originally published October 6, 2021)
The Story
She said it had to be Billie Eilish.
From the moment I met Emily she knew without question that she would paint Billie Eilish.
There are so many things about Emily that amaze me: her bubbling-over enthusiasm for life; her wry, beyond-her-eight-years sense of humor; her huge vocabulary; her insatiable curiosity. We had a blast together. For more than three months we got together once each week.
We talked about Andy Warhol and other artists who worked in multiples. Following in those footsteps, Emily painted four different versions of singer-songwriter Billie Eilish: Billie with pink hair, Billie with green hair, Billy with blue-purple hair, Billy with an orange skull cap. We listened to Billie Eilish songs. We talked about Billie Eilish. And we played a lot with Garfield and Tigger, my cats.
So I knew I had to paint Emily as Billie: with pink hair, with green hair, with blue-purple hair, with an orange skullcap, with attitude.
We’re grateful for robust bidding and a successful auction to benefit this year’s arthritis.org/KCArt and kids with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis!
When I asked Emily what she thinks of her art now compared to what she thought about it before we met, she said: “It doesn’t look like blobs anymore.” I predict lots, lots more art by Emily that doesn't look like blobs. And I’m so grateful Art for Arthritis brought us together!
Laura King