Nan Wood Graham and Carla DeWild

3” x 2 ½”

1996

oil on panel, gold leaf, brass, velvet, Avonite

This painting shows Grant Wood’s sister, Nan Wood Graham, in her mid-eighties, with blackbirds perched on her shoulder and nestled in her hair.  Behind her, Carla DeWild, one of my gay personas, is portraying “Renfield” from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”  I’m hungrily contemplating the cricket on Nan’s fingertips.  Here, I’ve represented myself as an androgynous character in a narrative, which connects it to my ongoing investigation of gender identity.