I draw pen and ink illustrations based on found photographs. (Can someone please give me a sexier way to describe "pen and ink drawing"? You can really see people's eyes glaze over when you say this - unless you evoke Robert Crumb). My principle sources for photographs are loose individual photos purchased at flea markets, old magazines (especially LIFE, Playboy, and "physique" magazines), old textbooks, and the occasional original photographs that I take as snapshots.
A couple of years ago, I was lucky to come across a whole stack of snapshots taken at a strip bar in New Jersey in the 80s. This is a very unusual find. At that time, I was strictly drawing, not embroidering, so I made an attempt at drawing some of these ladies.
When I started embroidering, I was attracted to this particular image. I liked her tough attitude, her stance, and her sexual ambiguity.
The major disadvantage of drawing women is hair. Hair takes a long time to embroider. I took a break from embroidering women for awhile, but now that I've become more proficient, I am no longer intimidated by long hair.
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