Anyone with an eye for large details can tell that, while I spend my days (these days) drawing pretty much everything in my life (1960 through 2014, thus far), I scarcely ever draw anything or anyone from the late 80’s/very early 90’s. It was, to say the least, a difficult era for many of us. Allan Gurganus dealt with it well and masterfully (and, more importantly, kindly) in his novel “Plays Well With Others”.
Oddly enough, I haven’t mentioned John to anyone (except Herve, when I first him, twelve years ago) for almost 25 years. Doing so has always seemed irrelevant to anything currently at hand…..and it was long ago and far away from the life I lead these days.
I’d started work on this portrait, but had laid it aside. Yesterday, my friend/neighbor, April, encouraged me to finish it….so, I did. The title (which occurred to me before I began the portrait) is from a Prince song. I don’t, as a very general rule, spend a lot of time quoting lyrics from Prince…….but in this case it’s wistfully appropriate. As I said….it was all, now, long ago and far away.
. go to (the lyrics MATTer):