Man & Manet by Patty Canney

“Figurative without the figure”

“It is how I describe the paintings of dresses, garments, shoes, chairs, interiors and still lifes I played dress-up…with a trunk of old clothes, a needle, thread, fabric and sewing machine or with paper and patterns, colors and scissors. It’s what I do still. It’s what I love.

I am intrigued by dresses, garments, shoes, objects of life as well as the spaces they inhabit. Inspiration comes from my own memories. The rustle of vintage crinoline. The smell of steam iron on wool in the tailor shop where I visited my grandma. The whisper of tulle backstage at the ballet ….. unexpected slivers of time, place and the people who, even now, seem to wait there. My paintings invite the viewer to join me in entering that space where fantasy and memory converge.

People in museums are always fun to watch. Some times they mimic or interact with the the painting. I can get lost in Manet’s work like this man at the Metropolitan in New York.”

Size: 16×20
Medium: Oil on Canvas