Blowin' in the Wind

I'm still plodding away on my John Muir portrait, but progress is abound. One area of him that I have altered is his hair. It will be a stylized windswept look, hopefully without looking too carved out.

I have been trying to figure out why I am putting this crazy hair on him besides just finding it interesting, and in the process was reminded of Andrea Kowch. Shes a contemporary painter that uses a ton of symbolism and her images allude to encroaching low-pressure weather systems. I don't recognize all of the symbols the she uses, or how she is using them (and I believe that that's precisely what she wants), but I do enjoy her homesteading imagery and the feeling of shifting -or something imposing- that her style communicates.