The Artistic Touch

One from my archive. (2009)

Our local artist
has gained a reputation
for portraits and landscapes,
but nudes
are his staple diet.
This has upset
the village prudes
so he keeps doing them
on the quiet.
Prominent in his studio
is a well worn settee
on which models recline.
As not one of them
sees fit to decline
his amorous advances,
he’s quite happy to paint
(and take his chances).
I happened to drop by
one sunny day
and there, on the couch,
a naked girl lay.
On her nose a touch of paint
– emerald green –
and a smudge of vermilion
on her buttocks,
where his hands had been.

© Luigi Pagano