For the last 10 years she’s been in my Attic.
Posted at 11:33 pm , on August 27, 2010
About 20 years ago we lived in an old historic home here in Oregon. My husband made the decision to have my portrait painted and I provided a photograph that I thought was nice. I remember I was wearing a black dress in the photo and in fact, I still have that very dress. The dress was a 40’s, heavily beaded, one-of-a-kind sleeveless sheath style made in Liverpool. My thoughts were this portrait would be merely a small little thing. A painting I perhaps, would hang in the back bedroom or something. I never did a sitting and the painter never asked me any questions. Months later, my husband ‘Chris called and eagerly said “Your portrait is finished; we can go pick it up!” I remember walking into this woman’s living room and seeing several huge show-girl looking nude portraits and thinking to myself, Oh no! Then there it was, a massive 6 foot painting! She was wearing a white dress with a pink ribbon; the dress was low-cut, but the most atrocious thing was the dress was sheer on the bottom. It was surreal; there was just no way I had a closet big enough to house this monstrosity! This was so unlike me, this woman in this painting! I wouldn’t wear a dress like that, she has too much makeup, she’s too revealing, and her style is completely different from mine! Well, to make a long story somewhat shorter. This portrait, hung in our bedroom for a very short time. When we moved from this wonderful, old, historic home I put her in storage. For the last 10 years she’s been in my Attic. I decided to name her Victoria; I have always fancied that name. I guess this is really the equivalent of today’s air brush and a total remake of a person! Makes you wonder about paintings you see of women you know nothing about, Paintings from long ago, before photographs, I wonder if they got their portrait and said “She’s nothing like me!”