ARTSPEAK!

ARTSPEAK! began in 2015 as my Poem-a-Day Project for National Poetry Month. I selected images found in the online collections of the National Gallery of Art and wrote poems focusing on dialogue, conversations, what does the piece say?

View all the images in padlet galleries on my website. Listen on Soundcloud. Or view me reading the poems on Youtube.









"Mountain Wedding" after Apple Tree 1 by Gustav Klimt
"Twilight Time" after Summer Evening by Isaac Levitan
"Paddling during a Pandemic" after Canoe on the Yerres River by Gustave Calliebotte
"Horses Plowing in Spring" after Spring Plowing by Edvard Munch
"Margot Says Hello to Spring" after Spring Margot Standing in a Garden" by Mary Cassatt
"May Promenade" after Spring Day on Karl Johan Street by Edvard Munch
"Why Roses" after Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses by Vincent van Gogh
"Fishing in Spring (Life is But a Dream)" after Fishing in Spring by Vincent van Gogh
"A Poem for the Girl by the Lake" after The Small Meadows in Spring by Alfred Sisley
"From Here to Happy" after Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies Claude Monet
"because every day is a symphony in spring" after Symphony in Green and Gold by Thomas Wilmer Dewing
"Once Upon a Story Orchard" after Spring in the Orchard by Claude Monet
untitled almond blossoms haiku after Almond Blossoms by Vincent van Gogh
"if god was a season, it would be spring" after Spring by Guiseppe Arcimboldo
"Spring Forward" after Shitao's Landscape Album: Shitao-van Gogh by Zhang Honetu
"Early Spring Rispetto" after Spring Frost by Elioth Gruner
"Saying Goodbye to Winter" after Sleigh Ride by Winslow Homer
"Why River Smiles in Winter" after In Deep Winter by Richard von Draishe Wartinberg
untitled winter haiku after Teahouse at Koishikawa the Morning after a Snowfall by Hokusai
"Snow Song" after Partridges in Snow by Jozef Chelmonski
"February" after Snow Covered Field with Harrow after Millet by Vincent van Gogh
"Boating in Winter" after Vetheuil in Winter by Claude Monet
"Digging in Winter" after Two Peasant Women Digging in a Field of Snow by Vincent van Gogh
"When Snow" after Winter Twilight by Grandma Moses
"Walking in Winter" after New Snow in the Avenue by Edvard Munch
"how to dress in winter" after Girl in a Large Red Hat by Mary Cassatt
"One for Joy" after The Magpie by Claude Monet
"A Dream of Winter" after Winter Landscape by Wassily Kandinsky

*For 2020 this series moves from a just-during-April event to an every-Poetry-Friday-across-the-year celebration!

"A Dream of Red" after L'Atelier Rouge by Henri Matisse
"Devil in the Night" after Red Flowers on Black by Elizabeth Bishop
"September" after Still Life with Apples by Vincent van Gogh
"Miss Mary's Crimson Life" after Miss Mary Edwards by William Hogarth
"Because a Church is Its People" after Shotgun, Third Ward #1 by John T. Biggers
"When Red Pours Down the Mountain" after Red Over the Mountains As If the Forests Are Dyed by Li Keran
"If Thirst Has a Color" after Roman Girl at Fountain by Leon Bonnat
"Show Time" after In the Loge by Mary Cassatt
"Late June Afternoon" after Red Boats, Argenteuil by Claude Monet
"Boy in Poppy Field" after Red Poppies by Mary Cassatt
"Still Life with Summer" after Red Interior, Still Life on a Blue Plate by Henri Matisse
"When I Write to You, I Put on My Red Shoes" after Woman Writing by Gabriele Munter
"In the Midst of It All" after Red Hills, Lake George 1927 by Georgia O'Keeffe
"Listen to the Windmill" after Fields of Tulips with the Rijnsburg Windmill 1886 by Claude Monet
"Everyday" after Lavanderas con zopilotes by Diego Rivera
"Recipe for a Sunset" after Sunset by Diego Rivera
"Watermelon Time" after The Watermelons by Diego Rivera
"A Trio of Short Haircut Poems" after The Young Hairdresser by Felix Schlesinger
"The Truth Is" after Young Girl with a Flower Hat by Alexei Jawlensky
"Geometry of Summer" after Castle and Sun by Paul Klee
"Call me Zinnia" after Woman with a Red Zinnia by Mary Cassatt
"A Girl who Reads" after A Girl Reading a Book by Lee In-sung
"And this is where we shall meet" after Street in Roros by Harald Sohlburg
"Sister Sister" after Slippers by Liu Kang
"The World of the Vase is Dark, Wet" after Pink Roses, Chinese Vase by Samuel John Peptoe
"Love in the time of Long Distance" after Mark Rothko, no. 16
"Lacemaker, Late Afternoon" after The Lacemaker by Johannes Vermeer
"Priorities" after Evening Twilight at Acapulco by Diego Rivera
"There Can Be No Sorrow" after Strawberries on a Spode Plate by Jeanne Ilyene
"Milkmaid's Lament" after The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer
"Red Skirt" after A Red Skirt by Pablo Picasso 
"At the Window" after Child in a Red Apron by Berthe Morisot
"The Opposite of Invisible" after The Red Blouse by Berthe Morisot
"The Truth About Happy Families" after The Happy Family by Pablo Picasso
"Hello, Neighborhood" after 1937 Untitled by Pablo Picasso
"When Dapper Owls Dons a Hat" after Owl in Hat by Richard Jones
"Night Swimming" after Night Swimming by Richard Jones
"Monet's Haystacks" after Haystacks by Claude Monet
"A Traveling Song" after Red Road Near Menton by Claude Monet
"The Power of Art" after The Artist's Daughter with a Parakeet by Berthe Morisot
"Bear's Promise" after Bear with Me by Richard Jones
"Once Upon a Time" after Bee & Apple by Richard Jones
"Water Lilies" after Red Water Lilies by Claude Monet
"somewhere" after Dog in Coat by Richard Jones
"Dog's Birthday Song" after dog in party hat by Richard Jones
"When Faced with White Space" after untitled bird by Richard Jones
"Because Every Day is a Red Letter Day" after Mama Dog & Pups by Richard Jones
"How to Make Merry" after Christmas Bird by Richard Jones




Why "Happy"? Read the introductory post!

"Girl in a Yellow Dress" after A Girl in a Yellow Dress by Amedeo Modigliani

"When the Stars Come to Town" after Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh

"On a Golden Day in May" after Checkered House by Grandma Moses

"Beach Time" after Children Playing on the Beach by Mary Cassatt

"The Weight of Happiness" after The Flower Seller by Diego Rivera

"By the Sea" after Coastal Scene with Gulls by Maud Lewis

"Sister Song" after untitled piece by Henry Darger
"Two Cows" after 2 Cows by Maud Lewis
"Girl in Hat" after Girl with a Yellow Hat by Norman Lewis
"Backstage" after Dancers in Green and Yellow by Edgar Degas
"So Many Suns" after Kohbar of Mithila
"To an Olive Tree" after Olive Trees with Yellow Sky and Sun by Vincent van Gogh
"Three Black Cats" after Three Black Cats by Maud Lewis
"When Grandma Reads" after Mrs. Cassatt Reading to the Grandchildren by Mary Cassatt
"On a June Afternoon" after Pigeon on a Peach Branch by Emperor Huizong
"On the Water" after On theWater by Mary Cassatt
"Autumn Prayer" after Red Vineyards of Arles by Vincent van Gogh
"What a Cat Needs" after Julie Manet with Cat by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
"When a Horse Writes a Poem"  after Horse Head with Yellow Background by Fernand Leger
"Fiddle Song" after The Fiddler by Marc Chagall
"A Dream of Yellow" after Tree Against a Yellow Background by Odilon Redon
"The Letter" after The Letter by Mary Cassatt
"To a Sunflower" after Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
"Only in Summer" after The Yellow Boat by Gustave Caillebotte
"Wish I May, Wish I Might" after Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent van Gogh
"The Guitarist" after Girl in Yellow and Blue with a Guitar by Henri Matisse
"Last Day of Summer" after Wheat Fields with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh
"Anticipation" after Woman in a Yellow Jacket by August Macke
"Yellow Irises" after Yellow Irises with Pink Cloud by Claude Monet
"Yosemite Morning" after Valley of Yosemite by Albert Bierstadt






"The Last Poem" after Dancing Girls by James Van Der Zee
"Hazel Scott at the Piano" by James Van Der Zee
"She" after Portrait with Flowers by William Johnson
"Poems Come Lately" after Still Life with Flowers and Chair by William Johnson
"Papa with a Pipe" after Self-Portrait with Pipe by William Johnson
"A Song for Old Glory" after Lift Thy Voice and Sing by William Johnson
"Midnight Party" after Harbor Under the Midnight Sun by William Johnson
"Summersong" after Children at the Ice Cream Stand by William Johnson
 "Trio" after Art Class by William Johnson
"To a Water Boy" after The Water Boy by Meta Warrick Fuller
"Storytime" after Storytime by Meta Warrick Fuller
"Sorrow" after Sorrow by Meta Warrick Fuller
"My John Henry" after When John Henry Was a Baby by Palmer Hayden
"Night Music" after Untitled by Palmer Hayden
"A (Sub)way of Looking" after The Subway, 1930 by Palmer Hayden
"Girl to Mama" after Madonna at the Stoop by Palmer Hayden
"For Love of the Game" after Checkers Game by Palmer Hayden
"The Birthday Birds of Bonaventure Island" after Birds of Isle de Bonaventure by Palmer Hayden
"Boat Dock, Early Evening" after Boats at the Dock by Palmer Hayden
"Prayer for the Berry Pickers" after Berry Pickers by Palmer Hayden
"Sometimes Books Are the Only Playground I Need" after Among Them is a Girl Reading by Palmer Hayden
"Measurements" after Octoroon Girl by Archibald Motley
"Barbeque" after Barbecue by Archibald Motley
"American Idyll, 1934" after An Idyll of the Deep South by Aaron Douglas
"The Toiler" after The Toiler by Aaron Douglas
"Let There Be Poetry" after The Creation by Aaron Douglas
"Boy with Plane" after Boy with Plane by Aaron Douglas
"To a Dancer" after Sahdji (Tribal Women) by Aaron Douglas
"For the Builders" after Building More Stately Mansions by Aaron Douglas
"This Poem is A Dream" after Aspiration by Aaron Douglas



2017

30. "Wild Horse" after Rearing Horse by Leonardo da Vinci
29. "Girl and Dog" after Girl with a Dog by Pierre Auguste Renoir
28. "Sun and Moon" after The Laughing Boy by Robert Henri 
27. "Weather Report" after Self-Portrait 1923 by Abraham Angel
26. "The Way You Look at Me" after Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
25. "Gratitude" after Tahitian Woman's Head by Paul Gaugin
24. "The Postman in Spring" after Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, April 1888 by Vincent van Gogh
23. "Dark the Day" after Little Dutch Girl by Robert Henri
22. "Tiger" after Tiger by Hwang Jong-ha
21. "Self-Portrait as a Painter" after Self-Portrait as a Painter by Vincent van Gogh
20. "What to Do in the Desert" after Nubian Girl by Ervand Demirdjian
19. "In Summer" after In Summer by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
18. "Night" after The Outlier by Frederic Sackrider Remington
17. "Boy Blowing Bubbles" after The Bubble Boy by Paul Peel
16. "Morning" after Buki Rinsen by Tsuchida Bakusen
15. "When Papa Paints" after Portrait of Anne by George Wesley Bellows
14. "Whistler's Mother" after Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler
13. "In the Company of Kittens" after Contentment 1900 by Henriette Ronner-Knip
12. "Sixteen" after Jeanne Hubuterne-1919 by Amedeo Modigliani
11. "Promise" after Portrait of a Little Italian Girl" by Maria Kroyer
10. "Portrait of a Writer" after Oskar Maria Graf by Georg Schrimpf
9. "Speaking of the Weather" after Profile of a Woman by Fujishima Takeji
8. "Happiness" after Self-Portrait with Straw Hat by Elisabeth Vigee le Brun
7. "Virginia, Sitting for a Portrait" after Portrait of Virginia (Little Girl) by Frida Kahlo
6. "Paint-by-Number" after Portrait of a Woman by Alexei von Jawlensky
5. "Warning" after the bull by Lee Jung Seob
4. "I am" after The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas by George Catlin
3. "What If?" after Portrait of Camille Roulin by Vincent van Gogh
2. "The Lady Confesses" after Portrait of a Lady with Mask and Cherries by Benjamin Wilson
1. "Mona Lisa in Love" after Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci


2016
30. "Garden Rabbit's Dream" after Garden Figurine: Rabbit by Maurice Van Felix
29. "These Al Fresco Summer Nights"  after Repast in the Garden by Edouard Vuillard
28. "Strawberry Basket"  after Strawberry Basket by William Spiecker
27. "When We Meet in the Garden"  after The Artist's Garden at Argentheuil - A Corner of the Garden with Dahlias by Claude Monet
26. "Sunday Afternoon"  after Madame Monet and her Son by Auguste Renoir
25. "Let Us Now Praise Leafy Things"  after The Gardener - Old Peasant with Cabbage by Camille Pissarro
24. "Just Like the Garden" after On the Fence by Winslow Homer
23. "What Grapes Say" after Plate by Dorothy Posten
22. "A Dream of Wheat"  after Field of Green Wheat by Vincent van Gogh
21. "Fruit Jar"  after Fruit Jar by J. Howard Iams
20. "Child in the Garden"  after The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil by Claude Monet
19. "Math Lesson (from the Garden)" after Still Life with Lemons and Oranges wit Blue Gloves by Vincent van Gogh
18. "Gardening Basics" after The Watering Can/Emblems: the Garden by Roger de La Fresnaye
17. "Mary in the Garden"  after Reading in the Garden by Pompeo Mariani 
16. "This Wheelbarrow"  after A Woman Emptying a Wheelbarrow by Camille Pissarro
15. "A Dream of Sheep"  after Warm Afternoon by Winslow Homer
14. "Harvest"  after The Last Days of Harvest by Winslow Homer
13. "Anticipation (in the Garden)"  after George Moore in the Artist's Garden by Edouard Manet
12. "Gathering Fruit"  after Gathering Fruit by Mary Cassatt
11. "Bread's Lament"  after Boy with Basket of Fruit by an unknown American artist
10. "After the Fire"  after Ruined Farm by Hubert Robert
9. "Cow at the Gate"  after Landscape with Open Gate by Pieter Molijin
8. "I Am the Plate"  after Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit by Paul Cezanne
7. "Courtship (According to the Cat)" after Rustic Courtship by Winslow Homer
6. "Courage"  after Planting Corn by Stanley Mazur
5. "Orchard Barber Shop"  after Gardener Pruning a Tree by Jacques Callot
4. "Gardener's Companion" after The Watering Can by Georges Seurat
3. "Man, Reading"  after Denoisel Reading in the Garden by James Tissot
2. "At the Vegetable Market"  after Vegetable Market at Pontoise by Camille Pissarro
1. "Triolet for Planting Day" after The Artist's Garden at Eragny by Camille Pissarro

2015

1  "Baby at Play" by Thomas Eakins.
2  "Sewing Chair" by Dorothy Johnson.
3  "The Railway" by Edouard Manet.
"The Black Rocks of Trouville" by Gustave Courbet.
"Cat Watching Caged Bird" by Jacques Callot.
"The Sick Chicken" by Winslow Homer.
Mortars and Pestles" by Elizabeth Moutal.
"Head of a Dog" by Auguste Renoir.
"Girl in a Boat with Geese" by Berthe Morisot
10  "Cutout of Animals" by an unknown 19th Century American artist.
11  Riders on the Beach at Dieppe" by Rene Pierre Charles Princeteau.
12  "New England Farm in Winter" by unknown 19th Century American artist.
13  "A Monday Washing, New York City" by an unknown 19th century American artist.
14  "The Music Lesson: Studio of Gerard ter Borch the Younger" by an anonymous (Dutch) artist.
15  "Man Crying Out" by Rembrandt.
16  "The Road" by Edgar Degas.
17  "Bathers Caught in a Storm" by Felix Vollotton.
18  "Snake and Butterfly" from the workshop of Johann Teyler.
19  “Fisherman Spearing a Fish” by John La Farge.
20   "The Flower Beds in Holland" by Vincent van Gogh.
21 "The Dance Lesson" by Edgar Degas.
22  "Straw Hat, Bag, and Umbrella" by Frederick Peto.
23  "Rowing Scene" by E. Levy.
24  "Still Life with Bottles and Fruit" by Alexej von Jawlensky.
25  "Four Boys on a Beach" by Winslow Homer.
26  Horses in a Meadow" by Edgar Degas.
27  "Woman with a Parasol" by Claude Monet.
28  "Boat and Trees" by Jacoba van Heemskerck van Beest.
29  "The Bath" by Mary Cassatt.
30 "Young Girl Reading" by Jean-Honore Fragonard.

2015 Review Post

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