That Marilyn Monroe Picture.  In my many years of creating various pieces of art I have been able to hold on to very few pieces that I treasure. Much of an artist’s work winds up in the trash or given to stranger in a moment of haste. One portrait that I drew years and years ago still haunts me. I gave it to someone who wanted the Marilyn Monroe picture I created. Even as I handed it over to her, I felt myself filling with regret. Why I chose to hand the Marilyn Monroe picture over to the acquaintance remains a mystery to me. I knew that I would never see this person or the drawing ever again. Maybe I just wanted to be liked or remembered in some way. Perhaps I gave it out of kindness because I knew that the lady loved the portrait. In any case, it is gone and I have no way of knowing what happened to it. I don’t even remember the lady’s name. One would think that I could just create another one, even one that was better since I had already gone through the process. However, it doesn’t work that way. The Marilyn Monroe picture was one that I could only create once. This may seem a little odd, but an artist has to find the right time and place for each creation. They are not made on demand. The process is akin to a birth and the process of creating the Marilyn Monroe picture was grueling. I chose to make the portrait using a technique called pointillism.  This method requires a lot of patience and skill because you not only have to draw the image in correct proportion, you have to do so by using small dots that pile one upon the next to create a unique effect. The Marilyn Monroe picture was a painstaking labor of love for the American icon that took me months to complete. Although I regret giving the artwork away, there is part of me that couldn’t resist the lady’s sincere interest in the portrait. She was astounded by the piece and she truly adored it. She offered money for it but at the time it didn’t seem appropriate. At the time I was young and I thought I could recreate the Marilyn Monroe picture at my whim. Maybe I can. It could be sheer laziness that keeps me from trying. Then again, it may be that I hold on to the hope of finding the portrait again.