Alice Neel

I watched the Alice Neel documentary this evening off netflix with my parents. I found it very interesting on many levels.

Hartley by Alice Neel

I do like Alice's work, it's not exactly what I would like to be making but some of them are very strong examples of what direction I would like my work to head. The above work especially, Hartley, a portrait of one of her sons has a lot of qualities I enjoy.

I also found it to be an interesting documentary as far as how it looked at an artists lifestyle, the sad story of poverty with the silver lining that she was in fact recognised at the end of her life, but not before her lifestyle had a severe at times effect on her sons. True she was born in 1900 so the path of her life will be different from mine, but had i been born in 1900 its hard not to see the same things happening and wondering if i would make the same choices.

I also wonder if thats why my parents watched it with me, some sort of clue into where this painting thing might lead, a view of what they would consider misguided choices would lead me.

I do know that I miss painting, I guess it's been 2 weeks but it feels like months. I wish I had siblings that I could draw. I don't have the courage to draw my parents, well I don't real feel that I can even ask.