“The Greatest Show in Town” by Gail Schellinger

Gail Schellinger does not wish to take any part in any bird fight which might take place in her backyard.

“The Greatest Show in Town” (2019) • Acrylic on canvas •  From the artist: “In the age of too many selfies, old photographs are even more interesting. This painting is part of my Unfamiliar Family Portraits series. Sadly, the old photographs I find at estate sales have no sentimental value to anyone in the family they are part of anymore.  I bring them home and study their faces. What were their possible relationships? And the moment in time when the shutter was snapped, so fleeting, and yet recorded so long ago. Were their lives difficult? So many seem they were. What was that special occasion that day they had their picture done?  I base my paintings on their faces and make up my own narrative as they seem to speak to me, with no words. The paintings in this series fill in the blanks of the unknown, and tells an untrue, rather absurd made up story. The subjects are spring boards for my painting activity. I give them new directions and invented lives.”