Son of the Museum
After a multi-year dry spell of painting in oils due to spinal pain, surgery, and recovery, and selling our home, I got back in the saddle in 2025. I was able to get my easels and supplies out of storage and set up a temporary studio in the home we are renting. I was so happy to get set up again and couldn’t wait to get to work on a painting that had been in a holding pattern for 10 years. Fear. Before the Holy Spirit took over my life in 2024 after the death of my daughter, fear would consume me. fear of failure, fear that I couldn’t paint what I wanted to paint. So, I would procrastinate. Fear no longer follows me around like a dark cloud. I rebuked that darkness in the name of Jesus, and now I am in the healthy mindset of painting what is in my heart, even if I’ve never truly done it before.
I was finally inspired to pick up my brushes and start over on a painting I had begun in 2015. I wasn’t happy with the direction of the painting. The man in the bowler hat wasn’t doing anything for me. I had to do better.
And so I did what any smart artist would do … I gessoed over the entire painting and started from scratch. A wise famous artist once told me “if you see something wrong in your painting, fix it immediately. Don’t ever leave it there staring at you like a wart on the end of a nose; and, if you have to, start over.” – Richard Schmid. His words cut right through me. How many times had I accepted what I thought I could not change, or accepted mediocrity? More than once. I needed to change my mindset no matter the time or frustration it took to get it right.
I decided to begin this painting by sketching it out in ProCreate on my iPad. That took me some time, and I was still going to end up making corrections to the sketch as I worked on the painting. For instance, that apple is almost as large as his head. What was I thinking? It must have been a long day for me when I was sketching it out. LOL
I was hoping to paint the frame on the Van Gogh painting as close to the actual frame on the original painting as possible, and that is how I sketched it out. I also sketched out the floor … incorrectly. Working at night seems to have its disadvantages … I’m tired and anxious to finish something. Two qualities not suited for an artist who wants to do this “correctly.” Back to the drawing board on the floor …
Perspective. If I get this wrong, then it all falls apart. I decided to change the direction of the wood planks in the floor from East-West to North-South, making it easier to follow the perspective lines. Stupid me … I put the perspective point at the top of the canvas when I first drew the lines for the floor. Again … I know I had to be tired. Then at 4am in the morning I had an “a-ha” moment, realizing that the perspective point needs to start at the eye level of the man in the bowler hat. Now I know that I have the point at the top of his head in this image. It was the only pic I took of my process. I did move it down to his eye level. Don’t you just love those 4am moments of clarity when you get an idea or answer a question that has been eating at you for a while?
I must have re-sketched his shoes a dozen times. My eraser got a workout on the canvas, but that is why I love ProCreate on my iPad. It is easy to erase what you want to and redo a part of a sketch. I didn’t want him to look like he was standing like a penguin.
The process was tedious, but I was determined to get it right. As for the frame, I decided to create one randomly. No picture references, nothing. I decided to have some fun and create an ornate gold frame like no other. And the top of the frame is the dove of the Holy Spirit. And all four corners have the Cross. Also represented in the frame is the fruit of the vine. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and the fruit we produce is of the Holy Spirit. So, there is a lot of my faith that went into this painting.
As for the Van Gogh Master Reproduction which I have included in my painting, Per Wikipedia: The Siesta (in French, La méridienne or La sieste) is an oil on canvas painting by Vincent van Gogh painted between December 1889 and January 1890 while he was interned in a mental asylum in the French town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.[1] It is part of the permanent collection of the Musée d’Orsay, in Paris.
Van Gogh chooses as his theme the siesta, while referring directly to the painting by the same name by French painter Jean Millet. Even despite the peaceful nature of the subject, the paintings radiate Van Gogh’s renowned artistic intensity.[2] Also known in French as La méridienne, Van Gogh’s The Siesta has been considered one of his masterpieces
Look closely at the face of the man at rest in my painting versus the face of the man at rest in Van Gogh’s painting. As much as I love Van Gogh, and I love this painting, this was one face I decided not to duplicate. Instead, I actually gave him a hint of a face. Zoom in and you’ll see what I mean.
As for the floors, the man’s suit, the umbrella, and every little detail, I finished this painting and proudly claim it to be one of the best paintings I have ever created.
If you are interested in the backstory …
The Backstory on this painting …
A favorite movie from 1999 inspired this painting. The movie, The Thomas Crown Affair, with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, was a great movie. The artwork and music throughout the movie was exceptional. If you ever see this movie, you will understand this painting. In the movie, Pierce Brosnan is in finance and acquisitions, and his office is across the street from the Metropolitan Museum. He is an avid art collector. I won’t spill the beans here, you’ll just have to watch the movie, but the MET is showcasing an exhibition of Rene’ Magritte’s paintings … one of which is the “Son of Man” showing a man in a suit and a bowler hat with a green apple in front of his face. This painting becomes critical in how the movie ends. As for the Van Gogh he is staring at “The Siesta,” I will tell you that early on in the movie, Pierce Brosnan (aka Thomas Crown) enjoys having lunch in the museum and he sits in the impressionist wing and stares at what he calls “my haystacks.” He tells the museum guard “I love my haystacks.” As for the red umbrella … the original Rene’ Magritte painting shows the man in the painting wearing a gray suit and a red tie. So, in my painting, I have him instead holding a red umbrella. The apple that was in front of his face in the Magritte painting, is now seated on top of his bowler hat, and he is in the museum admiring his “haystacks.”
As an artist and a survivor after a near death experience and difficult year long recovery after a major spinal surgery went terribly wrong, leading to an infection in my spine and two full emergency surgeries within 12 days of one another. It forced me to look at my life, my blessings, my strength, my family, and my relationship with God. This painting is a dedication to my Lord and Savior, for His unconditional love, His voice in my head giving me the strength I need during difficult times, His word, and all the scripture that speaks to me and has brought me to a place of a deeper and more personal relationship with God. Which leads me to the gold frame …
If you look, you will see a cross in every corner. The dove on top represents The Holy Spirit and God’s Love. It also represents the baptism of Jesus and reconciliation. It seemed appropriate that the dove sits as a reminder on the top of the frame as a reminder of our reconciliation with God. The design of the frame was drawn freehand with no reference. I let the mood move me, you might say. I thought, too, how the juxtaposition of the Dove and the crosses on each corner with the man and an apple on his head turned out to be quite profound when you think about it.
I am very proud of this painting and it means a great deal to me to be able to share it here with you.
This painting is SOLD.
May God move you in all that you do in life.
