All on the Same Afternoon

One afternoon, not so long ago, I encountered three amazing images of women. In each, a woman wears a special head covering.  The first came from a posting by my photographer friend, Ulas Tosun.  It presents a woman he photographed wearing wonderfully colorful clothing.  Hers is the face of an older woman, strong and showing signs of a life lived with determination. 

I was taken by her strong stance and I loved all the patterns and color.  I thought it would be wonderful to be up close enough to paint her portrait.  Those eyes and the hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth would be wonderful to try to get down on canvas.  Hers, I am sure, would be an important story to tell.  And then, there was the invitation to handle the posture as well as Picasso did in his large classical figures and to present the color and patterns with the inspiration of Matisse and his odalisques.

Just hours after finding Ulas' photograph, I found myself in front of the magnificent painting of the Visitation by Pontormo, the Italian Renaissance painter; on view at the Morgan Library and Museum, from September 7, 2018, to January 6, 2019.  Standing just under seven feet tall in recently restored brilliant color, it is quite a painting to encounter. 

Sitting there, looking up, way up, I was in awe of the canvas, wanting to take in as much of it as I could.  And then, suddenly, my eyes stopped and fixed on the woman in the background of the painting.  She was in the background but swiftly moving to the center of my focus.  The woman with the grey green veil on her head. most likely accompanying Elizabeth, the older cousin, to her meeting with Mary, called to me.  She seemed to be saying:  "Don't you recognize me?"  She did indeed remind me of the woman in Ulas' photo.  Younger perhaps and of a different time and place but equally compelling.  She was already in a painting, a magnificent painting but I wanted to paint her again.

Those two images should have been enough for one afternoon.  But then, on the way home, dealing with a bus that took too long in traffic, I found myself on Facebook with an another amazing woman.  Debra Rapoport posted the photograph below of a woman draped in a variety of kinds of netting.  Again, there are the eyes so filled with life, the suggestion of a wise smile, and the covering of the head.  Clearly, she is looking at me, and at you.

I have invited each of these women to my studio.   I am not sure what will happen as I try to engage them in an art project, but last week's drawing exercise while working with Ulas' photo gives me hope.