Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Housewife. . .

This gal with the slightly crazed and glazed look about her eyes reminds me of those stereotypical 1950s housewives - the ones who were the cook, the maid, the loyal wife - all while impeccably dressed and made up - any time of the day or night.
I will admit that I have a few tendencies in that direction - There is never a day that the bed isn't made.  I get dressed down to my shoes with hair/makeup even if I'm not leaving the house and I sweep/dust most every day.  
One way that I am NOT even close to the stereotypical housewife is in the cooking department - I am not a fan of cooking although I have a great affinity for eating.  I love watching cooking shows, especially the competitive ones.  The issue I have with cooking is all the time and preparation that is involved for something that gets eaten within a few minutes and then I get to clean up - sigh. . . Do you love to cook?
Linking to Paint Party Friday,
Paper Saturday

29 comments:

GlorV1 said...

I love to cook Michelle and also watch all the cooking shows on TV. I love to watch Bobby Flay. Love your ladies. A lot of thought went into your work.
gloria

Tracey FK said...

this is fabulous, and i do love to cook, but hate to clean up after so i have trained myself to clean as i go or else I would never cook... and I have to have the bed made or else I go out of my mind... it drives me insane... loving the hair cut on your painting... and the underlying hints of green around the eyebrows... awesome... xx

Ayala Art said...

No I don't haha! But I do it anyway, and I make things that are fast, yummy and enough that we have leftovers for next day :oD
Nice portrait!

Jenny said...

She is fabulous Michelle... love the background... and the words... and yep... can so relate to the cooking thing... all that work and gone in minutes... cooking is certainly not my favorite thing... but I do love delicious food :)

Happy PPF...
Jenny ♥

Unknown said...

Aww, that's always the way isn't it! Lovely piece. :)

Lynn Cohen said...

My mother was that woman, got her hair done and nails weekly!! Hats, shoes, gloves, dresses...to the nines!
And she cooked and baked.
I am just returning to cooking very recently being five months vegan! And I'm loving it.
Love your paintings too. She looks a bit dazed by it all! HPPF!

www.dorissdaughter.com said...

Great painting and progression pictues. Women in the 50's/60's had that dazed look because a lot of them were living on their nerves and doped with tranquilizers!! Thank goodness women don't have the pressures of having to be the 'perfect housewife' today. My husband loves cooking and does it all while I do the cleaning. I also cant bear to leave the bed unmade:) HPPF

Tracy said...

I love to cook! Although cleaning is a bit more hit and miss. I can always find something much more interesting to do...
I think the sentiment on your page is so true, though. Often we put everyone else's needs ahead of our own. We should all learn better self-care.

denthe said...

Hahaha, I love the words you put on there! I think putting your own needs last is typical of mothers, don't you think so? there's always so many other things that need to be done. You are very good though, sweeping and dusting and making the beds daily. I have to admit I do as little as possible since I hate housework. I hate cooking too, and lucky for me my hubbie does it in the weekend (well, at least one day ...);-)

ann @ studiohyde said...

Lovely painting and what a great face this is. I'm with you on the cooking thing, hence husb. now does all the cooking here - he decided he wanted something edible! lol.
(ann @ studiohyde + Somewhere To Sketch)

Anonymous said...

Just perfect housewife lament...maybe sometimes just a woman's lament. xox

Jez said...

I'm with you michelle. I married in the 1950s and was determined to be the perfect wife. Fool that I was I used to wash all the white paintwork downstairs every week. But having been brought up in a naval home, it's always been 'a place for everything and everything in its place', and 'don't put it down, put it away'. Annoying when you are young but traibibg that sticks and makes housework easier and quicker. I could never leave the house, even when I was working unless everything was done, bed, dishes and tidying. Sad perhaps, but it makes me happy! Oh, and I love cooking and baking too. Great interesting post.

Jez said...

I don't know what traibibg is, but training works!

Unknown said...

I have the same approach to bed making that you have to cooking. Also, I don't like putting away my clothes after I wash them -- often living out of the laundry basket makes more sense to me! Lovely portrait that definitely evokes the stupor of a long to-do list! Happy PPF!

Sandy said...

I think your housewife looks beautiful - I guess that says something about me! I do agree about the cooking part but oh well - I have found that a lot of the meals I cook are better than what we can get when we go out. Michelle - you know how much I love your art. I have the girl that you did in my living room!
Sandy

Ivy said...

She's wonderful, a beautiful piece!

Anne Manda said...

She looks very pretty and tidy, maybe tiny bit neurotic, like Bree from desperate housewives! ;) I don't care for cooking, hence my great interest in raw food, I guess! :)

bellefrogworks said...

That is a wonderfully funny painting. The words are perfect. I like to cook (but not for kids who only want mac and cheese and hot dogs!! I have a lot of experience with those). I like the feeling of cleaning up - I like some order and it feels good for the 3 seconds it lasts (LOL). I do not get dressed if I am home - in fact the other day it was 4:00 when I realized I had to be somewhere at 5 and I was a mess!!

veronica said...

you DUST every day? omg, don't come over to my house!

alarmcat said...

love your painting.

cook? not so much. if it can't be cooked in 30 minutes, it's not for me. my husband loves to cook though. he will spend hours chopping and sautéing...sometimes it's even edible :)

Janet said...

I'm with you on cooking. It's not my cup of tea although I love to bake. As for other housekeeping chores, my favorite is laundry. I could do it every day and never tire of it. The rest of the chores get done when I feel like it!!

Love your girl and thanks for the progress pics.

SAMARA said...

I love your honesty Michelle. I am with you there, though I consider myself blazingly independent! funny oxymoron. I love the face. Very stepford wifish. Yet the colors are wonderfully beautiful and her face is absolutely gorgeous! Way to capture the essence of a true woman of that day! xox

Miss Marple said...

Thank you so much for your hearty comment on my blog! always love to see who visits and hear the opinion of others.
I do love your blog and the girls you are painting a lot. ...and to read your thoughts...and to see how you make these girls from sketch to finished.
I will now be a regular reader!
Have a wonderfull sunday - Irma

Leovi said...

Exquisite look! Love it!

Unknown said...

Beautiful and inspiring pages. Thank you for sharing. keep creative!

Renee Dowling said...

Cooking...ugh! Dusting, ugh! Art...yeh. Is inch moving to an acreage out in the country, I have learned that I will never be able to keep up with the dusting, so I do it when I have to. I just started an altered book journal yesterday for the first time. I was debating what to do with the front cover. It is an old Nancy Drew book and I love the colours. I was thinking I would leave it just like you decided to do...for mystery and privacy.

I really enjoy seeing your process.

The females are always so expressive and interesting. I especially like the background in this one and the use of the labelling tape!

Julie Gillespie said...

Love this one and your comments too! LOL. I love to cook, especially for people that enjoy food. Also love to watch the competition cooking shows and would even consider being on something like "Come Dine With Me Canada" ...but definitely hate to clean up after.
Always enjoy seeing your ladies! Very inspiring.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy your post! I love to cook, but just when the house is very clean... and that does not happen often because the house most of the time is a bit messy... I read a phrase somewhere that says something like this: "Cleaning the house while your kids are at home is like removing the snow while is still snowing" ... I think is a bit similar,- anyway, I do cook everyday because I have to feed my kids, something fast and not so complicated though. Now they are at school most of the day, so I'm working on organizing myself. :)

Love your girl and the words describe US, the MOMS.

Have a great day!
Nora

Michelle said...

I adore your girl. I love that quote. :-)
I love to cook. I love to eat. I don't like to clean up after cooking. The beds are frequently unmade. If I am not going anywhere, I definitely do not put on make-up, and it is possible you could find me in track pants and t-shirt with no shoes, LOL! I do like a clean house, but it is a miracle if I get to the floors once a week.