The Kitchen

25 x 30 Oil on Linen

When we lived in New York our studio was less than 400 square feet, which included the corner kitchen. A desk in another corner served as our office, the drop leaf table indicated the dining area, everything else was studio space. I made a large open cabinet where we could store paintings, the top was our still life table. The counter space in the kitchen was no more than 2 feet square so when we had guests for dinner the still life table doubled as a sideboard. Visitors were routinely introduced to the food, "This is an appetizer", "Don't eat that, that's a still life I'm working on". There was a little bedroom in the back that was so small you couldn't walk around the bed, whoever was sleeping in the back had to climb over the person in front to get in or out. We had a big north window, however, so the light was good for painting, nothing else really mattered. We painted all day then went to work as ushers at the Metropolitan Opera at night. The Met has a beautiful production of Puccini's La Boheme, we must have seen it 50 times or more. After everyone cleared out of the opera house we would return to our cluttered little studio, like Puccini's bohemians...healthier...but just as romantic.....