Skidmore College Squeaky Fromm........

2001. 16 x 20" acrylic paint on masonite panel. Saratoga Springs memory of when I used to live there...... Skidmore College is located there. The local college students ar called "Skiddies" which is a little too cutesy-poo to be a slur. Anyway, all the female students of Skidmore are blonde with a small /thin to medium build and seem to come from upper-middle class homes. They all pull their hair behind in a thin waifish ponytail or bun, and at the time when I lived there--they all wore those black nylon athletic "running"pants with thin white strip running down the outside length of the pant-leg. (As someone noted "When does casual become TOO casual?". Good point! ) Me and my co-workers used the term "Paltrows" instead of "Skiddies"! I did this painting with some type of sincere local/social commentary, that perhaps my peers would get a good chuckle out of (they did). The message could not have been percieved as Anti-Skiddie/Paltrow as the girl in the painting may be the protagonist OR antagonist or BOTH. To futher the smoke-screen, I titled the painting "Squeaky Fromm on a Bum Trip" and fashioned the girl's face after Squeaky herself! When it was time to hang my coffee house art show, I placed this painting in the most prominant position; eye-level above the cream/sugar/napkin/drinking straw area! Hee Haw! This one got lots of comments ; "Not digging this one" , "Too Local...", "Not a strong enough comment on Skiddies..." (!) and "...is that one of her professors in the creature's claw?". The end of a perfect day. Later, the owner of my local tattoo parlour (where I also exhibited my work) took interest in the painting and we worked out a deal--I got a free tattoo in trade for the painting.