TALKING TO DONATELLO / 2006 / oil on canvas / 24" x 32" SOLD... Read a painting comment below...
I didn't know they called him "Screaming Mike" until after Mike
was gone. I even named his painting before I knew he talked to imaginary
people. But they say he never screamed at people who were
real. In his spot in front of the "Daily Grind," it wasn't just the
owners who liked Mike. It seems everyone in Fells Point loved him for
reasons that I never had a chance to share.
When I first saw Mike he reminded me of a statue by Donatello. But when I was painting, I began to see him with the gaze of the young man at the table. "Was it Viet Nam that drove him crazy? Are those medals on his chest or just buttons with no holes?" Then when I was finished, I heard some news that also made me wonder about my odd connection to this man I never knew. Before his painting was even dry, they found Mikes body on a bench in Broadway's Square.
When I first saw Mike he reminded me of a statue by Donatello. But when I was painting, I began to see him with the gaze of the young man at the table. "Was it Viet Nam that drove him crazy? Are those medals on his chest or just buttons with no holes?" Then when I was finished, I heard some news that also made me wonder about my odd connection to this man I never knew. Before his painting was even dry, they found Mikes body on a bench in Broadway's Square.