I'm not sure what the mood of this young bride is. I suspect she's having a moment of reflection before heading off to the church, realizing that she's leaving one part of her life behind forever.
©2010 L.Ciacco, Bride Reflecting, mixed media on cradled panel, 8 x 6 in.
I have to admit to a slight obsession with a tv show called "Say Yes to the Dress" which follows women in a very ritzy NYC bridal salon as they choose their wedding gowns. I think I'm mostly in shock at the amount of money they're prepared to shell out for a piece of whipped cream they'll wear once in their lives. Or it might be that I'm more interested in the characters of the bridal advisors (sales clerks) trying to sell the would-be-brides their gowns, often in the face of obvious opposition from the bride's entourage. Anyway, the program seems to have switched from NYC now to a town in the American south, and my obsession has been magically cured, rather like a Virginia ham. I'm thinking that this little portrait was my subconscious tribute and farewell to "Say Yes to the Dress."
But then, when this is where the piece started, with no planning at all on my part, how could it have gone in any other direction? Wouldn't you have painted a bride??
Here's a little blast from my past: a tune that was very popular with me and my girlfriends, not that we agreed with the sentiment...
...and not that any of us actually ever got a wedding dress.
But then, when this is where the piece started, with no planning at all on my part, how could it have gone in any other direction? Wouldn't you have painted a bride??
Sometimes I feel like a foreigner when I hear about what goes on on TV. I have no TV. It's odd how TV creates culture and when you don't have TV, you get divorced from it all.
ReplyDeleteI love your quiet thoughtful bride rather than the usually blissful highly energetic ones. The fabric is well suited to the image. I especially love the veil. Her creamy concoction is well contrasted to her mood.
The start does indeed foretell the bride. Oddly enough, I see the bride kissing her groom. At least I hope it's her groom!
A pensive bride -- a thought provoking painting -- one can imagine several scenarios which would explain the expression and body language. Mine is: Is it too late to change my mind?
ReplyDeleteShe has a thoughtful look all covered in lace ...lovely veil and bouquet...love that you found her in patterns and lace. I've watched that show and I agree with you on the prices...lots of drama, sales girls and brides and families all high emotions.
ReplyDeleteMy girlfriend played that song to her fellow after holding him off for fives years, she decided it was time and that was her way of bringing up the subject! Loved hearing it again..thanks!
Hi Stickup,
ReplyDeleteYou're right about getting divorced from the whole tv culture when one doesn't own a set. I've had times in my life with no tv and haven't missed it. But if it's on hand, I find it a great source of entertainment and suitbable mind-numbingness when needed. We happen to accidentally have cable by some fluke.
So you see the bride in the beginning of the piece, too. If the person she was kissing wasn't her intended, that could well be the reason she has such a serious, pensive look on her face!
Shirl,
ReplyDeleteAn interesting take on the painting, all right. I wonder just how one would be able to summon up the nerve to bail on the whole thing when just about to march down the aisle to the altar. I think the threat of having to give back all the swell wedding presents would be enough to see me through the ceremony, not even considering the whack of money laid out on the dress. Although, I'd probably have picked it up at the Sally Ann using your Seniors Day discount!
Blue Sky,
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful tale about your girlfriend. I'm glad someone else has fond memories of this tune; it really seemed to permeate a certain time- a good time in retropsect- of my life. We were terribly keen on Laura Nyro back then. Those few special friends and I have kept in touch all through the years, though the men folk have come and gone, so to speak.
It's interesting more artists don't paint brides. As your piece so beautifully illustrates, it's a moment in a life wrought with any number of conflicting emotions. And also yes, they are so intensely decorated!
ReplyDeletetattytiara,
ReplyDeleteI do like how you describe brides as being "so intensely decorated." I hadn't thought of it in quite that way before...but it's true, across all cultures. I seem to have some sort of weird subconscious fascination with weddings because I have a small collection of newspaper anniversary announcements featuring
wedding photos from the 1940s/50s. I think they'd make a wonderful series of paintings. Maybe I'll make my fame and fortune eventually as a painter of old wedding pictures!
i am simply in love - such contrast between the diaphanous veils and flowers and her ponderous expression, but it is more than ponderous, it is such sweet-bitter melancholy... i'd like to put my temple next to hers and suddenly feel all she is feeling.
ReplyDeleteRoxana,
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered if we were able to experience another's thoughts/view of the world if we'd feel as if we'd gone insane. Or would it be a real mind-opening/empathetic experience? I'm happy that you've fallen in love here. Melancholy is an emotion that I often find on the other side of the Floating Bridge of Dreams. The pain beneath the merely pretty, yes?