Karine is a young mother, and appropriately, she works in the children's department in a big retail store. Shy and reserved, I never thought she would pose for a painting, but to my surprise, she was open to the idea. Of course, I have a weakness for redheads. I always do a double take when I see a redhead. In Karine's case, I actually did a triple take. Why? Those blue eyes. You rarely see redheads with blue eyes. I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

I honestly did not care what kind of clothing she was going to wear because I knew the strength of the painting was going to lie in her face, but I realized that the thick, black, knitted sweater was an excellent choice for several reasons. The black of the sweater complements the black of the McGill sign, balancing out the painting, and the bottle neck shape of the sweater props up her head in a royal manner. A friend of mine told me that Karine has an Elizabethan type of face. I like that observation. He also thought that she should wear an Elizabethan dress. She would look great, but not very appropriate for this subway series.