Marlu & Me

I'm fascinated by photos that depict reflections and have been trying to figure out how to make understandable paintings out of these layered images.  This is one attempt with a simple reflection of a best friend and I as seen in the window of Matles Florist on West 57th Street in Manhattan.  Here we took a brief second out of our frenetic running around to admire the window & I snapped the photo.  While I enjoyed the challenge in the puzzle of the painting the surprise was how much its actual execution made me miss my Marlu.  She was my cultural attache and the best of an ultimate Manhattanite.  There wasn't a new play or art show she missed.  She knew the best restaurant bars to retreat to with the latest novel which she'd later review in her journal.  She was a pool champion known as the woman with the most games played in the city and was loved and respected by players from all walks of life.  I'll never forget the looks we got walking through Saks with her in her 8 Ball champion jacket.  She was proud of and shared her culinary skills.  She modeled for me at painting events and helped me cart paintings and hang shows.  So of course I remembered her and our time together while painting this painting.  But what really surprised me was that when I was finishing I impulsively put a flower at our elbows and it made me cry.  Please forgive me for this sentimentality but all this said in honor of Marlu, shared experiences and friendship, and the wonders of painting.