The Mystery of Amber Rose

I have to confess that I’m both very fascinated and very smitten with Amber Rose, the mysterious girlfriend of Kanye West. The pair have been photographed jet-setting all over the world dressed in the flyest Blade Runner-esque gear. Part of her appeal to me is that Ms. Rose is ethnically ambiguous and startling beautiful with her nearly bald head. Both she and Kanye West have been the subjects of a lot of negative speculation online but I think they’re kinda endearing as a glamorously futuristic couple.

That negative speculation is just about the only information I could find on Amber Rose. Almost all of it is gossip that she may have been a stripper at some point in her life or homophobic condemnation over her short hair and previous relationships with women. Her story thus far has only really been told in the photos of her out and about in public. The only information I could find coming from Ms. Rose herself is this interview with her – Download MP3 (Warning contains LOTS of salty language and sex talk).

Those of you who have been keeping up with my videos on facebook know I’ve recently developed a penchant for crazy/ridiculous/amazing sunglasses. Amber and Kanye have both been photographed a lot lately wearing some impressive specs, check out the ones Amber is rocking below.

The portrait I created of her is both a response and a reclamation of her public image. It’s based on a photo I found of her online, the double-barreled middle fingers really appealed to me. When I saw the image I knew I wanted to make something out of it.

My first draft of the piece (above) was a lot more detailed than where I ended up with it. It didn’t have the pop I was looking for so I went back into Photoshop to adjust the tones and details. I like the final version, it’s very simple and stripped down.

I feel like I’m at a crossroads with my style and aesthetics. I spent years mastering the impractical mouse in creating my art and now that I’m using a tablet it has opened up too many possibilities for me. I’ve been strugling to figure out what stylistic direction to head into. The tablet has enabled me to me more detailed but I’ve also become interested in this simpler and more contrasty aesthetic.

What do you think of the two styles?

and can anyone shed some light on the mystery of Amber Rose?

Peace,

Rio