Want to see the future?
The Daily News commissioned computer whiz Dr. D'Lynn Waldron, one of the world's leading experts in the art of "age-processing," to imagine how famous New Yorkers, including the ditzy heiress, will look when they're senior citizens.
The 70-year-old former resident of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., has the uncanny ability to foresee how people mature, based on factors such as genetics, lifestyle, health and personality.
She determines whether the years will be cruel, or kind, using specialized software that adds highlights and shadows to a person's features.
"Whenever I can, I work from as much information as possible about the person, his family and ancestors," says Waldron, now based in Santa Monica, Calif.
"I begin with the bone structure and then build the muscles over it ... in much the same way I would build up volume with clay in sculpting. I try to show the personality, and perhaps just a bit of the soul, in the eyes and the set of the mouth. My portraits do not predict the future, but only show what it might be in certain circumstances.
"With modern cosmetic and medical intervention, some of them are like the 'Portrait of Dorian Gray,' showing things that the world will never see."
The artist spends about 40 hours on each picture, although some, like her portrait of an octogenarian Hillary Clinton take as long as two weeks.
Waldron, who launched her business after first being commissioned by the advertising agency of a cosmetics company, wryly adds, "I know some of the stars won't be too happy with the results but, the truth is, everyone gets older, like it or not."
6 votes
