Picture of the week 06.11.07
Forgetfulness and Blasphemy
Don't sweat what's coming; by "forgetfulness," I'm not implying that an intolerably long excuse as to why
I've missed the past two weeks is about to be offered, and the blasphemy is of the small-b variety.
In fact, I'm not even going to bore you with the details of the story behind the following picture. Because
I'm perfectly capable of boring you with a brief summary:
A week ago Friday was my birthday, and after the week that had gone before, I wasn't in the best of
moods...until I opened the front door and found a package from Amazon. She'd sent me a book for my
birthday, which cheered me up no end, but also put me in a panic. See, she always remembers
my birthday, and try as I might, I never can remember hers. It's right around this time, I know that,
but the date won't stick in my mind for love nor money. It ain't thoughtlessness, it's just stupidity.
Now as we all know, you can get out of missing the exact date of a birthday, as long as you can think of
something really clever to commemorate it. I wasn't able to do that, so I started this picture based on an
idea
I'd had during a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend four years ago. But I'll tell you about that in a minute.
In the picture above, you can see that I was having a little trouble grappling with the figure, and in particular
the hair. Fifteen minutes in and already I could tell the hair was not going to turn out just right. But then,
that's to be expected -- her hair is, to borrow a phrase employed by Gomer in Episode 27 of the third
season of The Andy Griffith Show, "a picture no artist could draw."
And speaking of artists, and for that matter speaking of famous guys named Andy, here comes the
blasphemous part. During the weekend I was telling you about, we went to the National Gallery
(the new part, the one that features all the modern art, the really good stuff, but has to rank among
the most pretentious structures ever built), and I had the idea of doing a picture of her looking at
what is probably my all-time favorite painting. I liked that; I thought it was an idea that was...
well, about as pretentious as the contemporary wing of the National Gallery.
Hey, by the way, the book she gave me is wonderful. Fantastic short stories by one of the best
writers I've ever read. You should buy this book if you don't have it.
Where was I? The picture, okay. Here's what I wound up with.
Which did I miss by the largest margin -- the hair, the painting, or the birth date? I dunno.
Alana Looking at Snow Flurries Oil on paper, 15" x 10"
Happy birthday, kid.
Previously on Picture of the Week:
05.21.07: Guerillas Indie Missed
05.07.07: Cat on Page 2D
04.30.07: Study for God's Linoleum
04.23.07: Pareidolia for Dummies
04.16.07: Pareidolia
04.02.07: Regression Redux
03.19.07: Regression
03.12.07: She's Ready
03.05.07: Luna
02.26.07: Cold as Hell
02.12.07: The Three Faces of Suzanne
02.05.07: Progress, of a Sort
01.22.07: What I Painted
01.15.07: Art Lesson
01.08.07: Mountcastle Drive
01.01.07: Resolution
12.24.06: Christmas Eve
12.18.06: Wintering
12.11.06: By Way of Apology
12.04.06: Rodney Hits the Floor
11.27.06: Gondola Car and Busy Ball
11.20.06: Sketch for The Remains
11.13.06: Work in Progress: Lawn Deer
11.06.06: Two Studies for VW