WWTBAM Bored

It isn't bad, although the background's a bit busy, but Michelle's, wth? It looks nothing like her.

It's pretty, but it looks more like Malia.

Catfish wrote:It's pretty, but it looks more like Malia.

That's what I was thinking, that it looked more like Malia.

This has nothing to do with my feelings about Michelle. When I saw her portrait it immediately reminded me of the many student artwork submissions I've seen at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. In other words, it looks like it was painted by a somewhat talented high school or middle school student. Not bad, but not professional looking, either.

The president's portrait looks very good, though I think his hand is too large (perhaps a dig at the current office holders hand size. )

It doesn't look to me all that much like Malia, either. To me, it looks like a painting of an unknown but attractive Real Housewife who has gotten gussied up with great hair and better than average makeup for the reunion show.

tlynn78 wrote:It isn't bad, although the background's a bit busy, but Michelle's, wth? It looks nothing like her.

Could have been worse...

Here are the portraits:

BackInTex wrote:This has nothing to do with my feelings about Michelle. When I saw her portrait it immediately reminded me of the many student artwork submissions I've seen at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. In other words, it looks like it was painted by a somewhat talented high school or middle school student. Not bad, but not professional looking, either.

The president's portrait looks very good, though I think his hand is too large (perhaps a dig at the current office holders hand size. )

I agree with BiT about Michelle's; it looks like something for sale for $50 at a small town art fair.

Obama's painting looks like something out of a horror movie in which he's about to get attacked by a moving wall of ivy. I also think the artist was more interested in the flowers than Obama.

So, which unit of paper currency will we be putting Ivy Obama on?

lb13

silverscreenselect wrote:

BackInTex wrote:This has nothing to do with my feelings about Michelle. When I saw her portrait it immediately reminded me of the many student artwork submissions I've seen at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. In other words, it looks like it was painted by a somewhat talented high school or middle school student. Not bad, but not professional looking, either.

The president's portrait looks very good, though I think his hand is too large (perhaps a dig at the current office holders hand size. )

I agree with BiT about Michelle's; it looks like something for sale for $50 at a small town art fair.

Obama's painting looks like something out of a horror movie in which he's about to get attacked by a moving wall of ivy. I also think the artist was more interested in the flowers than Obama.

I like the President's portrait, except, as I said, his hands. It looks like the painter may have used a photo. You know how sometimes if you use a cheap single focus lens and the subject is sitting and part of the subject's body, usually feet, are closer and the lens exaggerates the size. I think that is what happened here.

Wow - now that I see them both better (thanks, Vandal), these are just, well, bad. I know art is subjective, but, day-um. The Barack one has virtually no depth to the really, just, bad, background, and both subjects are given freakishly large hands. I mean, I know hands are hard, but just, wow.

tlynn78 wrote:Wow - now that I see them both better (thanks, Vandal), these are just, well, bad. I know art is subjective, but, day-um. The Barack one has virtually no depth to the really, just, bad, background, and both subjects are given freakishly large hands. I mean, I know hands are hard, but just, wow.

Michelle's hands are no worse than the rest of her body. I think the artist must be primarily a fashion illustrator.

Why is he sitting next to the outfield wall at Wrigley Field?

Not sure why I don't see Michelle's when I see Barack's but here is a quilting tie in.

Michelle's dress is a nod to the quilters of Gee's Bend. The quilts have been on tour a few times in museums. They are very simple geometric quilts that used left over fabric in order to help provide for their families if sold or used to keep the families warm if they were not sold.

And as much as I like the idea of a quilt pattern into a dress, I found it a bit odd in this particular picture.

Obama's head is too square, plus the hands...now that I look at hers more I'm not that grossed out about it.

I may lose my anti Obama creds...except for the head and hands, forget the kudzu, his isn't bad. Hers is just pop art which is fine. Understand wanting to do something diff. The beheading artist, whatever. If you explore many artists you may be SHOCKED I tell ya.
Speaking as a lapsed watercolorist.

More work by Obama's choice of painters. I've got to hand it to him, Barack associates with some classy people.

That's not racists at all is it? A black woman holding the severed head of a white woman she just beheaded?

I wonder what one would think if Bush had some painter do his portrait that had made it a habit of painting Klan members hanging folks. It's be O.K., too, right?

Understand. Who pays for portraits. Some is donation, some Congress. I do think this is much ado about nothing. When did you last care about a portrait? He's gone.

Plus, you know they knew this would cause kerfluffle and distract from crud.

Neither of them is to my taste. --Bob

I find myself in the strange sitchiation of not giving a shit and almost defending the artists. There ya go!

Except he does have 6 fingers on one hsnd...whaaa

Beebs52 wrote:Understand. Who pays for portraits. Some is donation, some Congress. I do think this is much ado about nothing. When did you last care about a portrait? He's gone.

Snopes provides some context. It's based on a classical (1608) painting, which in turn was based on a Biblical story. --Bob

“It’s sort of a play on the ‘kill whitey’ thing,” Wiley said in a 2012 interview with New York Magazine.

That's about as racist, and promotion of violence, as it gets. I'm not surprised Obama likes him.