Melinda Cooper, acrylic on canvas

Melinda Cooper. Acrylic paint on 18" X 24" stretched canvas. Art by Coyote Duran

I don't know about those of you whom draw and paint but I've always found women more difficult to render than men. Men are historically simpler to me because - let's face it - you can get away with deeper shadows and depth in the face. Not so much with the ladies.

There is an undeniable smoothness to a woman that has to be gradually and subtly defined. And anyone attracted to the female persuasion can attest to this being part of the attraction. Perhaps it's also why we have a tendency to wince when we see this beautiful gender get socked right in the mush.

However women have been fighting for decades in shorter rounds - and much shorter pay - than their male counterparts. And this drive to prove themselves just as worthy as said counterparts has been wielded by boxers like Sue Fox, Christy Martin, Laila Ali, Heather Hardy, Holly Holm and Claressa Shields among so many others. And I figured why not pay tribute to them with as much enthusiasm as I do male fighters?

Enter Melinda Cooper.

Coined "La Maravilla," this Las Vegas native, albeit lithe and beautiful, enjoyed a 12-plus-year professional career, winning the Women's International Boxing Association flyweight (112 pounds) title before ultimately vying for the IBF junior featherweight (122 pounds) title twice. Although she came up short in those bouts (both versus Ada Velez), those losses were Cooper's only defeats against 23 victories (11 coming by way of knockout) and neither were by stoppage.

Perhaps more importantly, Cooper was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame's Class of 2020.

Just as important, today happens to be her birthday. And the gentleman that I am won't divulge her age. It's simply impolite.

Melinda Cooper. Penciled layout on 18" X 24" stretched canvas. Art by Coyote Duran

Oh, but back to my original point: I decided to render my very first female warrior, Melinda Cooper, in acrylic paint on an 18" X 24" stretched canvas. My photo reference boasted a red theme, so I went with the inspiration. And in an age in which a superhero like Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch can captivate audiences and inspire imaginations, bringing out that same scarlet energy and magic in Cooper just seems apropos.

And this won't be the last fighting female I render. I have quite a list of subjects for the near future. This just seemed like a damn good start.

Happy Birthday, Champ!

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Commissions? Hit me up at artofthepaw@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @CoyoteDuran, on Instagram @CoyoteDuran and on Facebook @CDCreationNation.