Sunday, January 4, 2015
30 Paintings in 30 Days: ee cummings (Day 4)
I discovered ee cummings very early in high school - or possibly even junior high - for which reason, I felt like I truly discovered him, as though he were America, and I were Columbus, as though I could plant a flag and call him mine and feel possessive whenever anyone else got too near him. (Just like Columbus, of course, I didn't discover him, don't possess him, and can't in any way claim him. Alas.) To this day, in any case, he has a very special place in my heart. This piece was inspired by one of his better-known poems, "i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)."
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This girl is mesmerizing. The first thing that strikes me, of course, is her split-colored hair--egad, do I love the motion and highlights in that hair! I think of the boy in that Crash Test Dummies song whose hair turned white in a car crash, and I wonder if this collision of love didn't fundamentally change the girl in your portrait. The next thing I dwell on is the bright blue of her eyes and that makes up the X and O behind her, but especially the way it highlights the left side of her face. The colors play so beautifully with each other here. The tent crenelations, if I read them right, are such a brilliant and succinct way to suggest that she feels nearly like a sideshow freak with two hearts and two colors of hair, but the dreamy look in her eyes says that she doesn't mind the label at all. And those teeth! Love the teeth!
ReplyDeleteI am totally honored by this analysis, which is spot on! Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to do that!
DeleteYour work is always so thoughtful. It's great fun to write these bits and to take what are initially just inarticulate impressions and turn them into fully formed thoughts. I love watching you grow every time you put paint on a canvas!
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