Friday, June 12, 2026

La Fin de La Semaine Essay Question: Special "How Do You Say 'Art for Art's Sake' in Yiddish?" Edition

Okay, here's the short version.

So me and a certain Shady Dame of my acquaintance have gotten hooked on/are bingewatching a teevee show called (Sky Arts) Portrait Arist of the Year.

It's been running annually since 2013; the season we're currently enjoying is from 2019. In any case, the format has remained consistent since its premier. Nine artists -- professional and amateur -- have a paint-off portrait contest where they start by doing quick (four hour) studies of live sitters who are mostly B-list (usually British) celebs -- tv stars, actors, comics, pop musicians, sports figures etc -- and then they whittle the contestants down to one.

Who then gets to paint -- over a much longer period, i.e. a couple of weeks -- a 10,000 pound commission portrait of an A-list celeb for a major Brit Art institution. (In the season we're currently watching, the sitter is Sir Tom Jones for a museum in Wales.)

In any event, it's a fabulously entertaining show, and most of the art is world class and brilliant.

Which leads us, inexorably, to today's theme. To wit:

...and the post-Elvis pop/rock/country/folk/jazz/hip hop music star that you personally would most have liked to have painted a portrait of -- from life -- is...????

Discuss.

And if you're wondering who my ideal sitter would have been...

Ah, the late great Ms. Winehouse.

For multiple reasons that I probably don't need to go into. 😎

Alrighty then -- who would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend everybody!!!

9 comments:

edward said...

Given I hate these sort of shows, I have to choose who I would inflict participation in them on. I guess Johnny Rotten Lydon, just to see if he would shut up and sit still for four hours;>

Allan Rosenberg said...

Grace Slick circa 67 - 68 without her usual trawled on makeup.

I would love to draw/paint the mysterious woman who hid herself away from the world in plain sight. Who was under there?

Captain Al

steve simels said...

Heh. 😎

Alzo said...

Tom Jones sitting for a portrait? Let's hope he kept 'Wendell' under wraps.

Anonymous said...

troweled maybe? sometimes 2 l's

Cleveland Jeff said...

Elvis was a beautiful young man. In the female category, I'd choose Tina Weymouth. I can't paint, but I'd love to talk to either of them while they sat still.

steve simels said...

Back in the 70s, I went to a Manhattan loft party -- this is right before Talking Heads went national, i.e. they were still local hipsters -- and Weymouth was there. She sat all by herself on a chair and not one of the 30 or 40 guys in attendance went over to talk to her. Just intimidatingly beautfiul. 😎

Cleveland Jeff said...

I'm not surprised, but don't you wish you'd taken the chance to chat her up?

steve simels said...

It has crossed my mind on more than occasion since. 😎