Last Hurrah: Michael Schumacher; 2006

Michael Schumacher, seven times world champion, stastically the best driver in Formula 1. His last first place podium on the 1st October 2006, Chinese GP Shanghai International Circuit before retiring at the end of the season. This picture was supposed to be his last hurrah but, after coming out of retirement in 2010, who knows. Go Schuey!!

Animal themes

Looking Up To Fleabane, 2007

Erigeron glaucus is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name seaside fleabane, beach aster, or seaside daisy.This is a perennial daisy reaching heights between 5 and 30 centimetres (2.0 and 11.8 in) with branching, nodding stems which may be glandular and hairy to hairless. This particular picture was captured in front of our rented house in Loughborough, UK. I had to lay down on my tummy to shoot the photos then painted them. The finished painting was then selected by and printed on the back cover of Society for All Artist (SAA) magazine, UK in 2007. The link is here http://www.saa.co.uk/galleries/fullsize.aspx?id=809

Repent: Jade Goody, 2007

 

Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was a dental nurse before becoming famous for her appearance in UK reality TV show Big Brother in 2002. Her downfall from fame was due to her bullying and racist remarks in a similar TV show, Celebrity Big Brother in 2007. Her appearance in an Indian version of Big Brother, Bigg Boss was cut short after she was diagnosed with a cervical cancer in Aug 2008. She was in the media limelight again due to her sickness and a huge publicized marriage on 22 Feb 2009 to boyfriend Jack Tweed. Apparently her cancer was terminal. She died a month after that. 

This particular painting was done from her appearance in the Sun newspaper apologizing for her racist remarks against an Indian artist, Shilpa Shetty in 2007. Her rise and fall and rise again was all due to media. I felt sorry for her. RIP Jade