When you live in Berlin, your friends tell you when their friends are coming to town.

Our latest visitor from the US is Miss Victoria Victrola, a Bay Area based musician, entertainer and event creator.

She is well known in the Bay for her music and her delightful tea parties, enjoyed at such events as the Edwardian Ball. (There’s an upcoming one with Edwardian Ball house band Rosin Coven too!)

When Whitney sent me her contact info, I thought, she looks familiar! I’ve drawn this woman at an event somewhere!

I looked through my hundreds of drawings on flickr and found one I’d done of Victoria doing a living statue performance in 2008, as seen above.

So I asked Victoria if she would pose for me again, and she came by on Sunday afternoon and we made this lovely painting.

Her attire, a true vintage suit and hat, was so charming.

She works one day a week at OverAttired, the exquisitely sourced and curated vintage clothing shop of my friends Sam and Monica.

We had a wonderful visit, catching up on news from our community in SF, Oakland and Berkeley. After we’d finished the sitting and gone downstairs to the pub for some hearty German fare, I explained that I would finish the picture the next day.

The final adjustments to a portrait, like tuning in on a radio station, are best made the following day with fresh eyes and hands and a clean palette. Above is the picture the way it looked when I picked it up this “morning” (around 2pm, after coffee) and below is after the final corrections.

I’ve been painting on board for the first time in decades and really enjoying it. A smooth surface is so receptive to detail. I’m very grateful to Whits for connecting me with Victoria, and to Victoria for a bright dose of gothic rococo vintage chic and charm in late winter!