My Favorite Painting
C arrie M ills PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN GUIDER
Curator, Gordon Jewish Community Center Galleries, Artist, and Musician
T
he painting that holds center court over the mantel in my home is one I purchased at a yard sale in the neighborhood of Forest Hills in Nashville at least ten years or so ago. For most of my life I’ve had a love affair with Italy, and so it was no surprise I was instantly drawn to the painting. On my first trip to Italy I was busking with a friend on the Ponte Vecchio when all of a sudden I heard a familiar childhood voice call my name from the gathering crowd. It was then I was reunited with a best friend from childhood who has remained like a sister to me ever since. This painting renews countless memories of time spent in Italy while holding the lure and promise of return each time I look at it. The view from the balcony off my living room makes me feel like I can be anywhere in the world as I take in the endless sky and overlook the rooftops and trees. Sometimes while sitting there I imagine myself sitting in a villa in Italy. I turn to see my favorite painting. It speaks to me and says, “I’m here waiting.”
Italian View, (artist unknown), Oil on canvas, 28” x 22”
114 | May 2014 NashvilleArts.com