"Broadway Betty V. Vacuuma"

Acrylic paint on masonite panel. 2001. 18 x 24". There comes a time in your life when you ask yourself "what's it all about? why am I here? what am I doing?" AND "Why am I asking myself so many questions?". When you're an "artist", those very questions can breathe more fire and cause more frustration than they would for most normal humans. Case in point; When I lived up in Saratoga Springs there was a local woman named Betty who was the town mascot/kook/office cleaning lady. Always with a vacuum in tow, Betty was slightly batty, out-spoken and loud but did have some endearing qualities as well and was well liked in the community. I had one of my local coffee house art shows in town, and used her as the topic for this painting.(She's in it--very tiny--with the robot about to comsume her). She cought wind of her painting in the show--saw it and loved it! She felt like a celebrity and was walking on air for weeks! )I promised that, whoever bought the painting--I would give the money to Betty herself. Later, it was purchased by an annoymous buyer in town, and I gave Betty her money. She was happy.
I moved out of Saratoga in 2003. Several years later, I got word that Betty passed away. At her funeral, on display, was the painting! I was very moved and even better, it helped answer some of the above "why and what" questions from my opening statement here.