Friday, December 27, 2013

Post Square 12.26.13 ~ His Gypsy Redneck

Post Square 12.26.13 ~ His Gypsy Redneck

Her husband calls her his “gypsy redneck”. Country singer Kellie Pickler, following in the footsteps of Dinah Shore in Normandy, Marilyn Monroe in Korea and Raquel Welch in Vietnam, travels to entertain the U.S. troops. On her 7th USO tour, the pretty, blonde star told her smitten audience in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province there was no place she’d rather spend Christmas.

Clad in camouflage leggings and sparkling boots, the 27-year-old former “American Idol” finalist sang love songs, joked with the soldiers and assured them America was grateful for the sacrifices they had made. Pickler also visited the wounded and fired a howitzer during her stay. She had brought her license to carry a concealed weapon to Kandahar, just in case.

U.S. troops have spent the past 13 Christmases in Afghanistan. For many, this is likely to be their last. The long war there is coming to a close and soldiers are being withdrawn. However, those in uniform are still fighting, and dying, in continued deployments, even as their bases are being dismantled around them.

The drawing ~ I repeated the technique from yesterday, starting with a charcoal line and letting the black smear into the colored pencil. I like this effect. I think it gives the drawing body and interest. The detail is from the Post’s cover photo of Kellie Pickler kneeling down in front of the makeshift stage, signing autographs for the troops. This is a section that includes her camouflage tights and rhinestone boots. The drawing is 5"square.

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