I have always respected and enjoyed the art of modeling displayed by Whitney Darling and Redd Inc. I had come across her work via Facebook when she did a shoot with my long-time friend and radio brother Jim Selovich. I had reached out a few times to possibly arrange a meeting and get to know the person behind the pictures. After a few close calls, we were able to sit down and get to know each other a little. My reasoning for getting a chance to know and understand Whitney is because of the huge amount of respect I hold for part-time creators. To explain what a part-time creator is, I reference myself. I also reference Jim Selovich and Dale “Dr. Destruction” Wamboldt and Cory “The Pretzel Guy” Tussler any other local artists that walk that fine line between a job/career that pays the bills and the creative side of their being that allows for the stretching of those creative muscles inherent in each of these people. I believe Whitney Darling to be one of those part-time creators I respect so much.
Whitney Darling is exactly what I thought she would be. And she is also very much nothing like I thought she would be. As a content creator, I am always a bit nervous to see if what I have written has some life to it. As an artist, you absolutely never know what will resonate with the masses and what falls very short of the mark. I can’t even imagine the amount of self confidence one must possess to have that art forum being one’s own body and image portrayed through modeling. I was interested to find that Whitney possess a very subtle confidence, does not lead with showing off her body in public, and offers a very realistic approach to her craft. Whitney knows who she is, comfortable in her own skin, and I could tell she enjoyed listening to and discussing my opinions of what people like us are all about. We also have very similar situations at home with spouses that understand that your significant other, going to a bar, to hang out with someone of the opposite sex is never a cause for alarm. And that is rare, and I know I’m thankful to my wife every day for that trust. She is, undoubtedly, in the same boat as me.
So was it her body? Her beauty? Her art? What drew me in? Probably a mix of that all the above. Once I met Whitney the person that lives behind Whitney the model, the natural beauty was very evident. When you do photo shoots that include horror shots and various different character portrayals, sometimes you struggle to find the genesis of the human being. Well at Paddy O’s Pub, the natural beauty was on full display. There was no opinion to have or embellish regarding her body because (as it should be) she was just a patron and we were in a public place and we had never met. You know everything there is to know about someone based on how they meet you for the first time. I know I was open to whatever our meeting produced but equally on full guard. I love the fact that she was too. If memory serves, there was a very nice shape and unique and tastefully done art work on the body that belonged to the person but there was really no need to discuss that. This was about being an artist. This was a conversation about a life’s passion and the fine line between what we love to do and what we need to do. The hour and a half went by rather quickly.
So this version of “my art” will feature very little about modeling or photography or anything sounding remotely close to an opinion about what Whitney Darling does as a model. I LOVE giving my opinion about a lot of stuff but that opinion is only offered when I know the subject information well. I know very little about art and I know less about modeling and before last weekend, I knew zero about Whitney. And now that I know just a bit more than I did last week, opinions will still be scarce. It wasn’t the beauty, or body and it wasn’t the brains that peeked my curiosity. It was another B word. Bravery! Brave enough to display your being and images in an art forum takes guts. To do it because you love it and because it is your passion earns a lifetime of my respect. I know what I see when I view her work and the great part of that is, another person may see things completely differently. As is the case with most anything creative, quality and interpretation will always be in the eye of the beholder. It was fun to share with her the things I saw and felt in the art she continues to create.
This woman’s creations are bold, but she is never boastful. They are sensual and sexy but she carries herself in a guarded and respectful manner. Some of her work is very colorful, lighthearted and very easy to digest (much like her personality) and then some of the other work she creates leans more toward a darker side. She is a Human Resources Professional that uses herself as a human resource to create one-of-a-kind images. She is one of those rare people that you can say “WOW” to picture number one, and by the time you get to picture number twelve you are asking “WTF is that”? I admire that type of artistic range. I highly encourage that anyone interested in unique expressions to seek out some of the work created by Whitney Darling and those in her creative circle. It’s fun…it’s freaky…it’s fresh…it’s fabulous. And it is all courtesy of a very working-class lady that has spent the majority of her years settled somewhere between Zion, IL and Racine, WI. Whitney Darling is the Real Deal. Meaning she is a real person, like you or I, who works in the real world, has a real relationship and enjoys the journey of real life more than most. She is also a very real artist and model. I feel very fortunate to have gotten to opportunity to get to know her better….depth and quality crossed with sexy sensibility. I’m a fan!
