The face of a middle-aged woman on the body of a male dancer.
blue
Childhood redux
I wish I had this painting for the Childhood in Decline exhibit at the now defunct Blank Canvas Gallery in New Hope, PA. But I needed to read the owner’s statement for the show to create this painting. She wrote of her difficult childhood, and I have been thinking of it on and off for over a month. I created this painting using her statement as inspiration, as well as the affecting photographs of poor children, Spitalfields Nippers by Horace Warner. A compilation of mug shots by Raynal Pellicer and An Illustrated History of Boxing by Nat Fleischer and Sam Andres, updated by Dan Rafael were also consulted.
Am I Blue
Discussion a few weeks back about blue paintings and I wanted to make one. This fighter has some green in him as well. So many bad things are happening around me that creating a blue painting seemed apt. On a brighter note I recently finished Transatlantic, an amazing novel by Colum McCann that I am certain will be winning many awards. I was impressed by the delineation of characters and their interrelationships; how servitude can take more than one form, and how complicated our reactions may be when we are faced with injustices. Also spent some time with great friends and got to visit Woods Hole, MA, though did not get to see as much as I would have liked, I expect to make another trip some day.
Two beginnings
Very different. The landscape reminds me that I hate to paint landscapes, while the portrait appeals to my interest in rebels. Notice that this Gibson Girl has a black eye, which I will be playing up in subsequent iterations.
Spring is here
and that means it is almost time for Shadfest. This is my painting for this year’s auction to help raise money for scholarships for aspiring young artists. The original photograph can be found on the Library of Congress site. A search on Shad at LOC’s prints and photographs division brings up many other images as well.
