What I idolize about da Vinci’s work is the wrap it has around the world. His images are the most recognizable of any artist’s in history. Half of the world has seen in some form of reproduction his portrait of “Mona Lisa” or even his “Last Supper”. Leonardo was a man of the Arts but also Science, Medicine and Industry. He is the inventor of over 500 items that predate some of the items we use today “invented” by others after him. Focusing on his art, I wanted to capture the master behind his most famous portrait. There are many theories as to who the model was for his “Mona”…some Absurdists claim the female used for the likeness was his lover. This is unlikely due to Leonardo’s proclivity toward the male sex. Others think it a self-portrait. That was just too fabulous to pass up. This is where I took my cue for the likeness of the great master. Leonardo’s legacy is one of leaving secrets and clues in his work for the viewer to ferret out. I wonder if he did this on purpose or if it is simply art scholars spending hours of conjecture indirectly honoring perhaps the greatest artist ever to have lived?