"my friends as paintings"

Our dear friend Luke selected paintings that represented some of his friends and then wrote a few lines of corresponding verse to expound on and sketch each person. I thought they were beautifully done and wanted to share the ones he created for Brandon and I.

Woman in Blue 2, (Jean-) Edouard Vuillard

I know a person of talent

Whose skill is not of detachment.

She sees the room through her own lens

And vision else cannot dispense.

Recalling the moment’s value—

Think of Vuillard’s woman in blue—

Mind and body interior

Calm and strong, and generous, sure.

My friend’s bright, light, generous frame

Pronounces her unhurried name. 

Le Bon Bock, Edouard Manet

What solemn aspect all suspect

Would cheer at catching kindred eye?

I fancied myself in the gaze

Of Manet’s man drinking good beer.

But now see someone different

(Shown from the shoulders up at least),

One who needs not a company

For thought, tobacco, and true rest,

But knows their value and increase

To count himself as truly blessed

In longer silence at the desk

Or louder table resonance. 

By Luke Mitchell