The Unveiling...

The Unveiling...

So, about a year ago, I moved into a new apartment and my mother came out to visit and help decorate. Being a good Catholic boy, I have a tiny Last Supper sculpture (OK, it's more of a mass-produced casting, but let's not nitpick...), and knowing that my mom is very artistic, I asked her if she could paint me an updated Last Supper to hang in my dining room.

Now, my concept was, "What if Jesus was doing his thing in 2004 San Francisco?" He would have been hanging out on Polk Street (OK, probably in the Tenderloin, but close enough), turning water into martinis or mojitos, and eating tapas instead of bread. So, I was thinking Jesus in a bar, maybe cigarette in hand, or cosmo, and definitely shaved and dressed in Banana Republic gear.

Well, Mom would have none of that. Sacrilege! She couldn't put a cigarette in Big J's hand; wouldn't put a martini in his hand. Even with my begging, she wouldn't follow through on my concept. I know that she wanted to beat Michaelangelo at his own game (and her and I both knew that she could!), but her parochial upbringing prevented her from doing it in a blasphemous fashion. Instead of Jesus + 12, she painted a central character + 14 as a ruse. Instead of Jesus as the center of attention with hands spread, she painted a karaoke singer with mike in hand. Instead of wine, cocktails. And, instead of bread, popcorn and olives.

My parents both visited last week - almost a year to the day after my mom and I discussed the "commission" and she began working on it. We had a formal unveiling, with the painting covered, everyone ready, and a quick lifting of the cover...

Damn! This is sooo cooooool! I was expecting it to be nice, but I had no idea that it was going to be so freakin' fantastic! The faces, the drinks, the background, the table, the menus... Everything was so beyond what I imagined, I was just floored! I love it! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!

It went right up on my dining room wall!

Thanks Mom!!!