Back To Black

One of my weekly gigs is providing suppurting illustrations for Chris Bopst's "Sound Advice" column in BRICK Weekly. This time around, he extolls the virtues of a few new CDs, one of them Amy Winehouse's Back To Black. I'd never heard of her before, so I jumped over to iTunes and previewed a couple tracks before beginning the drawing to get a better feel of what she's all about. I'm really glad I did...it's an excellent record, kinda old-timey but with a definite modern, almost rauchy twist. And it's a steal at iTunes for just eight bucks if you're interested!

Anyhow, here's the illo, complete with a look at the pencilled version for comparison. I'm glad I listened to some of her songs first, 'cause my first inclination with many female musicians, believe it or not, is to respect them as artists and play down the sex appeal angle. It was just too good a fit to pass up with Amy, however, so I went with a full-on vampy chanteuse approach. I can't imagine she'd have it any other way!