In one of my recent posts about Rick Day I wrote:
'Rick Day is one of the best in the business, but not every model should step in front of his talented lens. I have seen Rick's lens eat up models who do not have goods. I cannot exactly put my finger on what it is, a truth serum, a strength, something that Rick's lens is able to capture.'
Derek Allen Watson has that strength, even though he did not always believe it.
Derek grew up being told by some around him that he was too small and too thin to be a successful model. He proved them wrong. Derek used to dream of standing in front of the lens of someone like Rick Day. He never gave up hope.
Derek says:
'I can vividly remember three years ago being awkward and ugly in college. and looking at his stuff and saying that I would kill to be one of those guys.'
With persistence he IS one of those guys.
I profiled Derek last October (Check out that post HERE). I loved Derek's look in his early work. At that time I described it as erotic yet lonely. Looking at these shots by Rick you can see the growth, not only in Derek's work but in his confidence and strength.
If your like me, and are drawn to Derek's tattoo, it is his name in one of the first forms of written language. "kanji".
Derek, who hails from Ohio is also an actor and has appeared on stage in productions of Witness for the Prosecution, Rumors, Guys and Dolls, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Romeo and Juliet. He also appeared as a lead in the feature film Tomorrow for a Dollar directed by Don Crislip which debuted in New York City in August 2008. Derek is set to make his New York stage debut this week in Lysistrata at the Wings Theatre. The play runs from December 9th through the 20th. You can find out more HERE:
Derek's journey is just beginning. If you want to follow along with him, be sure to join his Facebook Fan Page HERE: or follow him on Twitter HERE: As always check out Ricks site HERE:
