Two days ago, Ms. Chrissy, patron and friend, attended a dinner hosted by me for her at my house. This evening was planned for purposes of 'catching up' as well as to show her my progress on the painting.
I was concerned about how she would receive my very slow and unpracticed painting style. I feel like I am painting every part of the painting like it is the first time I have ever painted that thing. Each grape is a revolution in representation.
One thing Chrissy saw that I thought was a very sensitive observation was that 'each brush stroke looks like it could change the feeling of the whole painting.' That's what makes painting really hard and really fun.
The good news is that Chrissy does like the painting so far. I feel that I have far to go, but I can never really tell, since I never really finish anything. Not so long ago a dear friend called me 'the girl who never finishes anything.' I really took this to heart, and it is the kind of thing that wakes me up in the middle of the night and makes me feel really really bad. But luckily I still finish my night of sleep. I can do that. And I always finish my dinner. And I even make my bed. But as art goes, for me, everything is an infinite process. I carry all my projects with me wherever I go. So, this project is great. I hope it is something I can finish and hand off with a sense of completion. This has been somewhat of an experiment on myself. If I can do this, I might be able to do everything else.
This is Chrissy, as she self consciously salutes the painting. It is her birthday next week, and for the record, Vermeer is her favorite painter.
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