Some just made a stupid mistake, had a few drinks too many, or thought they wouldn't get caught. Some are habitual criminals to whom being arrested is part of the job. Some are drug zombies who have given their souls to the devil that lives in a chemical powder. None of them are trying to look happy or pretty, as women normally do for photos.

It would have been easy to make this a freak show, selecting the most ghastly and damaged creatures. I have instead tried to select faces you might see anywhere, but ones with genuine emotional impact. I have chosen to paint only women because they show more emotion, and more variation in appearance. There is no deliberate exaggeration or distortion. I believe this is the best idea I ever had, and some the best work I have ever done.

Each picture is one moment out of the lives of people who are just as real as you are. Look into their eyes and think about those lives.