David Gainsborough Roberts is an enthusiastic and well known collector of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia and it was this interest that provided the theme for the third commission.
We agreed that the design should be based on the iconic Andy Warhol image of Marilyn but I wanted to show Marilyn's more vulnerable side. I drew out the portrait using a very fine black waterproof marker onto white cotton. This was overlaid with painted organdie to add colour and give a graphic quality. Old lace net was used to create gentle curves and shadows on the face, with features beautifully accentuated in hand stitching. The hair was worked in stem stitch, back stitch and couched metallic threads, with small but significant pieces of lace added for texture and highlighted with an assortment of spangles and little beads
The jacket was completed in sixty-nine hours in March 2006. It is a beautiful image, I was very pleased with the final outcome and once again David was delighted.