This painting was inspired by Henri Matisse's "Woman in Purple Coat". I want to share a statement about Matisse that I found interesting: ~~In 1937 Lydia Delectorskaya posed for Matisse in a purple robe. At the time Matisse had no intention to paint a portrait that looked like a photograph. When accused of painting unrealistic images of women Matisse explained, "I do not create a woman, I make a picture." He readily admitted that his images were not faithful re-creations of reality. ~~