La Belle Femme 3 (crop)
Watercolour and willow charcoal on Arches 640gsm 30″ x 15″
Copyright © 2010 Jean Burman
Last night while the rest of the world was sleeping… La Belle Femme [No. 3 in the series] was winging her way stateside for the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe 114th Annual Open Juried Exhibition.
Not the original painting though of course [not yet anyway]… but her digital image… which was to be posted ahead of the pre-selection process. It sure had been a mission getting her away by the deadline [arranging bank drafts in US dollars and paying for international priority post did kind of make me wonder if the whole process might not have been done more expeditiously online]
But… it felt good to be sending her off in the post.
And part of me wished I was going too!
Our girl is no shrinking violet though. She won’t be needing me. And whether or not the pre-selection judges will deem her worthy of a second glance [against a probable field of way more conservative entries] is anyone’s guess… and quite honestly… of not much consequence to her! She thinks her job is just to lounge around and look beautiful with her nose pressed up to the inside glass and not worry at all about such trivial trifles. And she would be right… [grin]
Either way… at least she will be there… mixing it with the other entries and doing her darnedest to put her best foot forward [okay scratch that - she doesn't actually HAVE a foot - or a nose for that matter - so let's just say - the best of whatever she can manage to put up] for the artist who painted her into this world [which would be me] *wink*
You should know that she hadn’t been my first choice for this Exhibition. But when the painting I had been working on neglected to co-operate with the deadline… there was only one thing left to do. And don’t worry… the prudence of choosing a more conservative subject has not been lost on me either but hey… who knows?
Maybe this was what was meant to be? [insert here musical score from Lost or X files - either will do]
All this too… in the week that Wonder Woman was given a makeover after 69 years in the same skimpy outfit.
Is the world turning toward a more conservative viewpoint?
[If so La Belle Femme might definitely get the cold shoulder *wink*]
Or is it really as WW creators insist… “that no woman wants to wear the same outfit for 69 years” Now there’s something I can relate to [grin]
Either way… what the new costume lacks in pizzaz… it makes up for in bark [if not bite]. The new look speaks more of bikie chick funk than true feminine punch… and probably falls more into line with modern day sensibilities. But somehow I think I shall always miss the unabashed feminine glamour of the earlier version *sigh*
What are your thoughts?
Okay… returning you now to the regular program…
If Belle does succeed in gaining pre-selection… the original framed painting will be shipped to New York for the October event and [if I can manage to package tape myself to the crate] I will go too. But I’m not preempting anything… because anything can happen. Especially when you’re making an entrance more than quite possibly outside of the dress code after flying in on a wing and a prayer from the opposite side of the planet!
Our girl Belle won’t be fazed either way as she already has her future all mapped out for her. She will be helping to find a cure for breast cancer with 20% of the proceeds from the sale of this painting going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation
Breast cancer touches us all.
Finding a cure… and better ways to help the people we love is now more essential than ever.
La Belle Femme series is now dedicated to this cause.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
First of all, Jean, I’m glad to see that things are apparently back to normal here. I checked in about a week or so ago and got a message that in no uncertain terms I should turn tail and run for fear of terrible things happening to my ‘puter.
Love the digression from the painting to WW, but it all makes sense. Ironically, I work with the agency that represents Lynda Carter, TV’s WW. I’ll have to find out what she thinks. [grin]
That would be interesting John. Let me know what she says
Re the message to turn tail and run. Nothing nearly so drastic required I am sure. Have been working back of house to make changes here adding links and changing design elements. Maybe you got that message during maintenance.