Big-Eyed Goodness

Maybe you've read lately about Lady Gaga mimicking the large-eyed waifs of the 60s by wearing funky contact lenses. Well, this reminded me of a little oil painting I bought for five dollars a while back at a La Jolla estate sale. Sometimes I venture into LJ to check out the sales and wander through a beautiful home or two. So, here I am in this woman's studio looking at her work for sale and although I didn't buy any of it I did notice a little painting hanging on her studio wall. It was unlike her very abstract style. When I got home, I looked it up to see if the artist was anyone in particular and didn't really find anything. I don't think I read the signature correctly the first time I looked it up, and so I found nothing. Today, as I took some shots of this little oil, prepping it for sale on Etsy (for maybe $10), I decided to look again. Glad I did! This little original oil, from all indications that I can tell, is painted by artist Margaret Keane of big-eye fame! You can read a great article about her work in the LA Times here. And another one here. A 12" x 9" oil on canvas is going for $35,000. My tiny little painting is just 3.25" x 4.75", but hey, it's a Keane! I'm so glad I bought it!