I chose this painting because I feel like I somehow have a personal
connection to it. This paining by Edward Hopper reminds me a lot of a painting
that my mom had hung up in our dining room when I was younger. I’m not even
really sure how I remember the painting, or what happened to it. I think that I
must have looked at it so many times because it hung on the wall for so long
and I was always fascinated by it. I remember having so many questions about it
that nobody in my family could answer.
The painting that I am referring to might always be a mystery
because I don’t even know what artist painted it or what the title of the piece
was, but I remember it pretty clearly. The painting was of a women behind a bar
of a restaurant, I’m assuming she was the bar tender. She had a very tired and
worn expression on her face. The women in the painting was wearing old style
clothes, if I remember correctly and she had pale skin. I always thought that
her face resembled one of a dog, and I’m not sure why I thought that, wild
imagination I guess.
I think that my parents liked the painting so much because we have
owned multiple restaurants of our own and I think they could relate to the
exhaustion in the painting. Or maybe I’m making something up, maybe they had just
been trying to fill space on a wall. But even so, it was on the same wall for
way too long for them to not like it. I don’t think I noticed it missing for
quite some time after it was gone, I think eventually I got tired of looking at
it and wondering about it with unanswered questions. I think I studied it all
that I could with the years it was up there, on that wall.
I used to imagine being her. I used to think about how that women
in the painting, lived. I would make up stories in my head and imagine that I
was all grown up to be her age and I worked in that same restaurant too. Of
course I never actually knew what it meant to have a job or work in a restaurant
but now that I do, I can honestly say, that I was way off from my imaginations.

Disclaimer to Mrs.Fraser: I think that I missed the mark on this assignment. After writing this piece, I went back and reread the directions in your original post for this assignment I realized that I had the wrong idea of what this post was supposed to be about. If you would like for me to redo this assignment, I would be happy to.
I love this piece! I think that the best writing sometimes doesn't come from doing the exact prompt- remember when I messed up the color story? Great story, I love how you were able to connect this painting with the one at your house!
ReplyDeleteThis is fine, Maddie! I like the connection you made to a painting you associate so many memories with, and I can see how your family would connect to this piece, too, with their work in restaurants and food service.
ReplyDelete