I went to my parents lake house to try and get some work done in a quiet place, and I think I'm going back again tomorrow.  No internet and super quiet.  Just what I need.  It is very peaceful there.  Looming above me was a large painting I did when I was 17 of my grandmother.  She looks kind of mean, but actually she was just very intense, and doing a serious job of sitting for me.  The painting is up high on a two story wall,  and when the sun comes in at a certain angle she really glows and glares down at us.  Not bad for 17 and no training!  I had a wonderful art teacher Mr. Ferrara, who really was an artist.  He always had enormous oil paintings he was working on in the class room, very classical underpainted, Italian style...... serious subjects wrestling with life symbols and each other.  Once in a while we had a day that he called critique and we were supposed to bring something in that we did at home and talk about it.  There were really incredible people in the class, and I felt pretty low in terms of talent, but still, it was a situation where you wanted to do the best you could, on your own time, so I was inspired to do this, to try and swim with the bigger fish...... It is nice to have a record of this time in a painting.  

My father's favorite place to be...

Claude enjoyed finding dead fish snacks....

He's a wader, not a swimmer!

Comments

Wow, great painting! The neck looks so sculpted with the hollows in the neck and the eyes are beautifully intense. The wood is wonderfully warm, The whole composition, really love it. It is so nice that you have that from the past, I bet your parents love it.
Cathy
Annie said…
I think this is a wonderful painting! I was thinking someone famous painted it before i read the post :-).
Unknown said…
Ah, wonderful portrait and very good for a 17 year old. I think she just looks serene, but maybe less jovial than she was. Yeah, it's nice to be reminded of things through art. Thanks for sharing the memory. Sounds and looks like a great place to do some artwork.
Jan said…
Wow, seventeen? It's a bit Alice Neel-ish. Love it...what a wonderful family piece.

Popular posts from this blog

Sally Mann