My Marylin October 29, 2017
Why is there such a fascination with Marilyn Monroe? Artists use her image again and again; she has been the subject of paintings, films, songs and opera; hundreds of books have been written about her, people want a piece of her image and energy in their homes, and in their lives!
I think it is the paradox about her strength and her weakness that fascinates us about her story. When I painted this portrait I thought a lot about her troubled life. The little girl growing up in foster homes and orphanages, who was shy and had a stutter. She was lonely, felt abandoned and was sexually molested more than once. Where did she find the strength to get up, get going and become a star? She challenged the status quo, she fought the big industry giants, she rose to fame in such a short period of time. As her legacy she changed the way people viewed women’s sexuality, intelligence and business sense. She became not only a Golden Globe actress winner of her time, but an iconic figure that will transcend generations. Lois Banner has called Marilyn Monroe the “eternal shapeshifter” who is re-created by “each generation, even each individual … to their own specifications”
Marilyn Monroe painting for sale
She had so much strength to fight the outside world and yet she could not fight her own inner demons. Her iconic smile is sometimes defiant, sometimes exaggerated, never just pretty, never boring.
Her image is an important reminder of what’s real, true and really precious. Looking at her portrait gives us strength to fight for the causes we believe in, makes us question ourselves about the legacy we want to leave behind, about our roles in society. At the same time she is there to warn us about the sacrifices we are prepared to make in order to fulfill those dreams and to question if those sacrifices are worth it to us or not. She is there to beg us to conquer our own demons, and by her own example she shows us the importance of managing our own emotions and addictive behaviors. She tells us to have the courage to reopen the wounds in order to heal them. Marilyn teaches us to go on our own inner journey in order to forgive and find love; to learn both from her triumphs and from her mistakes.
I look at her full, beautiful, heartfelt laughter and I can almost hear her saying: ‘Look what I have achieved by the age of 36, what can YOU achieve in a full lifetime if you master your SELF?
