Commissioned work: Music is My World
16″x20″, mixed media on paper
This is my very first painted self-portrait. When I was in 7th grade or thereabouts, I made a sketch of myself and I really liked it, but it was a very simple outline– no shading, and done very lightly because I was afraid to make mistakes and afraid to commit myself to my drawings. To this day, it remains that–a very light sketch.
When Peake Street Studios sent out the call for participants in an exhibit entitled “I, Defined,” I jumped in at once. Since the call, I had been toying around with ideas for what to do, how to incorporate as much about my art and me in my painting. Yesterday, the 8th of July, I decided to check the submission deadline–I vaguely remembered it was sometime in July with double digits–and realized, to my horror, that submissions would be accepted between the 16th and the 18th! When I got home last night, I hemmed and hewed, looking at the canvas that I had prepped with a light blue, because I felt strongly about that colour when I did it–over a month ago, when I was informed that I was selected as one of the participants in the exhibit–in preparation for the actual painting. (That light blue canvas sat on my easel waiting for me to work on it.)
I grabbed some old tubes of acrylics and gouache and unrolled the bottom ends, squeezing the paint out through the tube and using it to apply the paint. I painted straight on the canvas and finished everything but the dark blue lines and the highlights on the hair, which I did after having a close look at several recent photographs of myself. I had surprised myself, completely, when I noticed that even without the strong defining lines, what I had done actually looked like me! I guess I can say that I know what I really look like.
I call it a soul painting–it was my soul painting myself.
Return to Paintings
it’s a splendid day
don’t rain on my parade
the sun will chase my troubles away
it’s time to get out of the shade
it’s a wonderful day
that groundhog will come out
the sun will melt the snow away
spring colours will soon break out
© Cindy Lapeña, 2011
it’s a whale of a tale, i tell you
is it a tail of a whale you see?
i can’t really believe what you tell me
i don’t have to listen to you.
© Cindy Lapeña, 2011
the click and clack of castanets
accompany the dancers’ steps
the music’s not quite music yet
the dancers never once misstep
the skirts that swirl and twirl and flare
around lithe bodies and legs bare
are coloured petals in the air
that flit and fly now here now there
the castanets that clack and click
match alien steps all smart and quick
the dancers’ backs all stiff and straight
belie their nature wild innate
© Cindy Lapeña, 2011
red
hot
sun
hot
red
heat
hot
heat
waves
red
hot
glare
bright
sun
flare
bright
yellow
glare
bright
yellow
sliver
yellow
orange
flare
© Cindy Lapeña, 2011
call the number
if you dare
up from slumber
drop all care
get it right
don’t hesitate
don’t take all night
don’t start too late
who will answer
can you know
miss or mister
high voice or low
do you dare
to call the number
bring the player
into your chamber
hesitate
a moment more
you won’t find fate
at your front door
© Cindy Lapeña, 2011
on a hot somnolent afternoon
her brown face smooth and clear
except for a single strand of hair
fallen loose from behind her ear
draws a wavy line down her face
distracting disturbing his pace
as he tried to keep hands in place
to keep from that wayward strand
to keep from her face his strong hand
on that hot tantalizing afternoon
© Cindy Lapeña, 2011