Wallflower is an acrylic painting. Etta James was born in 1938 in detroit Michigan. The painting was from a photo of Etta when she was 16 years old. Her father was a well known pool shark who exploited and abused Etta in her early years. Her father and mother were never married and had a less than stellar relationship, to say the least. Etta and her mother moved accross country. She would pursue her love of music and her mother would continue to struggle in her relations with men.