You might think Lautrec was my inspiration for this piece. Not a specific work, but you can see it in the gesture and the manner in which paint was applied.

Ann was really looking forward to her new life. She has a beautiful head of white hair, wears a lot of pink and red and is a great organizer. I thought, "why not have her invite people to the retirement party her co-workers were throwing for her?" So I drew her shouting the invitation.

Long dresses not only look great; they also provide great shapes to work with and a place to write “I’m retiring,” which, for this lady, was a delightful play on words. I adopted the gestures from a photo of cast members of a Gilbert and Sullivan production (I think).