Portrait of a Chair: A Novel

We can then accept the narrative on some symbolic level because, it is commonly believed, dreams are full of symbolism.

A novel approach

When we dream of flying we are really reflecting on our loftiest aspirations; when we suffer from nightmares about subterranean passages what we really want is to return to the womb, and so on. In my experience, though, dreams are quite unsymbolic, far less so, in fact, than our fully conscious existence. But my point is this: The effect was curiously exhilarating. There were all kinds of chairs: You get the picture: There were no tables or sofas or furniture of any other kind, just chairs.

It seemed vast and tiny at the same time: Every part of it looked as big as it was; nothing diminished into the distance, and that applied to the chairs too, of which there seemed to be an almost infinitely large number. The effort of trying to grasp this from an intellectual point of view seemed to paralyse my mind.

Portrait of a Chair

The pattern was one of pale pink roses which my wife had chosen shortly before her death. You believe that your nature is dual, both chair and not chair. Can you prove this? They had nothing to offer and so they were destroyed.

• Search the Collection?
• Irish Gandy Dancer: A tale of building the Transcontinental Railroad;
• The one that nearly got away;
• But God, I’m Only Eighteen: John?
• The Chick And The Egg : Poems And Short Stories.
• Portrait Chairs.

Like you, but the leather ones. They are the ones with authority. The evidence before you contradicts your statement. If you mean that we are composed of matter which has belonged to another form, that is true of all of us. Mystery is an inherent part of life and those who fail to accept it are doomed.

This, at least, is what we believe. He was smashed up eventually, of course. He was even suggesting that the armless ones were just as good as us which was absurd, of course. Everyone knows that chairs with arms are superior beings.

Already a member?

Yes, we collapse, we disintegrate; sometimes we spontaneously combust. We are smashed by mysterious agencies, or the leathers of course. Sometimes this is called dying. The Windsor was perfectly civil, but our conversation was becoming hateful to me. Then they begin to upset us too much, so we isolate them and they go mad and disintegrate, or we let the leathers smash them up.

Would you want us to dream like you of being something else? To me you are disposable objects, nothing more, like tables and beds and sofas. This chintz ponce has said it again.

• See a Problem?;
• Navigation menu.
• Join and Support?
• Portrait Chairs - Harries Heder Harries Heder.
• Author paints portrait of Chagall’s daughter.
• Nomads Land.

I chose to paint out the drape, concentrating instead on the wicker underneath. As soon as this was done, the surface appeared to move back in space more successfully, giving a greater sense of depth from the front to the back of the chair.

Portrait of a Chair

This wicker surface also provides a wider tonal variation helping to anchor the book on it. This detail shows the early blocking-in of the book. As the book is small relative to the composition as a whole, it needed to be greatly simplified. Here you can see how the cover image is suggested by using only five blocks of colour.

Portrait of a Chair | Weird Fiction Review

This final stage shows the completed painting after a few more sessions. The areas of colour on the background drape remain rapidly sketched in with fluid brushwork, as a contrast with the more precise shapes of the woodwork and book. Eventually, despite my reservations in step four, I decided to suggest text on the book cover to enable the viewer to read it as a novel rather than any other object. Trickiest subjects — how to paint reflections.

For the latest news, art and offers, sign up to our free monthly newsletter. Sign in Welcome back to Portfolio Plus! New to Portfolio Plus? Register Fill in the details below to register for your account. How to 'suggest' a portrait using still life.