All Hell is Breaking Loose...in a Quiet Way

Sometimes a tiny painting puts up more of a struggle than a giant, epic mural.

I speak from experience.

In October/November, I locked horns with a portrait of a nemesis. Not that either I or the nemesis have horns, but it felt that way. I spent two weeks shut up in my studio with that painting, cheered onward mostly by coffee, carbohydrates, and wonderful friends who dropped by unexpectedly.

Eventually I ran out of coffee and carbohydrates, so I washed my hair, pulled on my fashion boots, and headed outside to run errands.

My first errand was to swing by an art exhibition I’d heard about. This particular exhibition featured works-in-process by a bunch of very cool, hip artists. The man manning the exhibition was not only one of the cool, hip artists in the show…he’s also one of my favorite curators.

After giving me a tour of the exhibition, he gazed at me. “So, what are YOU working on right now, Nancy?”

“I’m doing a painting of a nemesis,” I said, “but it’s not going well.”

“Of course it’s not going well,” he said. “It’s a nemesis.”