Portrait of Joachim, the rugged metrosexual

Those of you who have known me for he past twenty years know that I am above everything else a  creative sort. One of my earliest memories involved drawing princess dresses at preschool, my best friend cried when I made her gown forest green instead of pink.
However all of you have noticed that I only ever draw women. There is a reason for this, and no to answer that girl in year nine i'm not a lesbian.
I just love dresses.
I love lush fabrics, intricate bead work and eye baffling colours.
I love jewels and surreal Lady Gaga hair styles.
Men rarely dress or accessorise like this, I have no points of reference when it comes to drawing crazy colourful outfits apart from David Bowie.
I was however forced to confront my fears when illustrating a character design for the book  I'm writing.
Joachim Murat was a dashing soldier I'm napoleons regiment who would or day become King of Italy. He was well known for designing his own uniforms in shades of pink and daffodil yellow with lavish plumes.

Some may say my fear of drawing men can stem from my fear of confronting gender norms. I didn't particularly want to draw rugged cowboys in shapeless layers of brown. On the other hand I didn't want to sketch Andrej Pejic. Joachim seemed like my perfect muse. Joachim lived during a time where pink was hardcore, men slit throats while wearing feathers and fashion was everything.

So, here he is the first male I have ever attempted to draw seriously.