Painting Backstories: The kissable mouth

I am a huge fan of the show MasterChef. In particular the Australian edition. Not just out of nostalgia, remembering the years I lived there. But also because I tend to really like the judges. More so than in the American and Canadian versions.

While working with a mentor, Will Kemp, an English artist, we were talking about this show and in particular about one of the judges. An Asian woman named Melissa Leong caught my eye. Or rather, her mouth caught my eye. It was simply… kissable! I do not usually have this reaction to other females, but I just could not keep my eyes off her lips. Immaculately ‘lipsticked’ and always scrumptious, whether she was talking, eating, smiling or just doing nothing. To the point I decided to look for photographs online. But none really captured what I saw. So I began to scroll through the show’s episodes and paused the video whenever I saw the magic happen. I painted a portrait with her mouth prominently present.

She no longer presents the show, after the team crumbled when one of the judges unexpectedly passed away. But she will be in my memory forever… I even got my mentor Will to look at her in a whole different way…. And now perhaps you too 🙂


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