Alden has recently graduated from the tabletop to the easel.
Her approach: choose a subject, and study it closely.
Once the subject has been etched into her mind—once she has truly grasped the subtlety of its movement, the unflinching truth of its being—then, and only then will she begin to paint. And when she does, she leaps at the canvas (or newsprint, as the case may be) with tigerlike ferocity.
And who is her subject? Of course you can tell by gazing at the painting.
The similarity is more than uncanny.
Yes, Kato is Alden’s favorite subject, her constant artistic obsession, her Helga, if you will.
I heard a contented sigh, and walked over to examine Alden’s finished painting. “It is not complete,” she said with some angst, “And never will be. I simply had to abandon it.” She stood there for a moment longer, pondering the ineffable.
“I’ll call it Still Life with Small, Sad Boy and Dog Food” she told me. “Circa 2011,” she continued.
I’m not sure if this is a case of life imitating art, but around here, the two do seem to get tangled up more often than not.
I’m looking forward to seeing Kato’s response. Will such a happy little dude succumb to artistic angst?
I’m worried about Kato and the dog food. Was that his breakfast? If so, you might consider throwing in some fruits and veggies as well.
Oh, Clare. I tried to talk Matthew out of posting that picture of Kato. He does eat the dog food. Regularly.
Abby: in any analogy pair you can imagine with Alden relating to pretty much anything she does, the other half will inevitably be Kato:dog food. He will succumb to nothing else.