Woman as vegetable, draped in Saran-Wrap
My first successful nude in a naturalistic style, as a student in Cornelia Foss’ class. Foss intentionally arranged the model to make her insecurity apparent. I draw much better now, but I still like this painting. I received an email yesterday asking, “What do you mean your house is full of paintings of ‘women commodified, …
When I had No Clothes On
Not our anonymous naturalist, alas, since I haven’t any pictures of her. A nude by little ol’ me. After dusk last night, a shifty-looking fellow rang my front bell and abruptly thrust a sheaf of paper bound in hemp string into my hands. It was a leaked copy of a memoir by a local naturalist. …
Take off your clothes for fun and profit
A post-manifesto painting, and it ended up being my favorite of Michelle ever. “There are pictures of nude women everywhere, and nobody seems to care,” my son-in-law once said of my home. He’s right. I’m passionate about the subject of subjugation, so there are paintings of women leaning on every available space: women commodified, bent, …
Painting by Numbers
That’s not a lighthouse, but the Summerville Coast Guard Station in Rochester. And it sold fast, so maybe they know what they’re talking about with this blue. Maine lighthouses are among the most iconic of images. Does that mean that painting them is a good idea? It depends on what you’re after and how you …
The Poetry Pole
The Poetry Pole in the depths of Spring. Of the lovely things to sprout in my neighborhood, the one with the longest-lasting bloom is the Poetry Pole around the corner. I first noticed it on March 18 while walking with friends; the poem was Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese, a seasonal and apposite statement, for when women …