My Model Mother

My mother was ridiculously beautiful, a combination of Catherine Deneuve and Elizabeth Taylor, with the grace of Audrey Hepburn and the sophistication of Katharine Hepburn.

So when she casually mentioned that, who knows, maybe I might find one of her old modeling photos useful for a painting, and that maybe I might like to have such a painting eventually, my heart broke.

And I panicked. A black and white photo! In an old-fashioned, modern style! In an antique frame! With the face angles off! Of my mother! Gaaaaahhhhhhh!

So I spent two days attempting to do a portrait on an old blue willow plate, and had to sink it.

That left me an evening to do this one. I'm not done, it's terrible, it needs glazing, it needs scumbling, and because it's so light the little bit that does work rather well looks ghostly or gets lost in a photo.

It also proves that Oscar Wilde's observation also applies to painting: "All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."

But I dunno, I thought I'd post it anyway in honor of my mother.