I saw this wonderful oil-on-board painting on the cover of Marin magazine (a guilty li'l pleasure of mine. I'm such a townie, ain't I?) and I just had to share. It's called "Afflicted," and the artist is Kelly Reemtsen, who shows her work here in San Francisco's Caldwell Snyder Gallery. (They have a second gallery in the wonderful wine country village of St. Helena.)
This is just one painting in a series that, to me, epitomizes the calm desperation of women in the aspiring class: despite an outward sheen of elegance, inside they've come unraveled.
So cool that the viewer can never look the subject in the eye. Without faces, without eye contact, we can only read body language -- and the items these women wield in order to vanquish the niggling little problems that are ruining their perfect lives.
But that's just my interpretation. I'd love to hear yours, too.
In fact, I've just made a momentous decision! Every Saturday I'll turn this blog turns into an Internet art gallery by uplinking similar works, by Ms. Reemtsen and other artists, whose works I feel tell a story similar to what I'll be telling you in my next novel, SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES.
A picture is worth 94,000 words,
Josie' s Next Book: Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives
Simon & Schuster/Downtown Press
(ISBN: 9781439173176)
Look for it in bookstores June 1, 2010
Pre-Order at any of the bookstore links in my sidebar...
