This is still today one of my favorite paintings today. I think it has such personal history that I forgot about but used when painting it.
In 1972 my parents purchased 160 acres near Staples, MN. On it was a barn, a chicken coop and a house. My Dad tore down the house and built a chicken coop with a Mansard roof on it. He added onto the chicken coop and turned that into a barn. Then he began turning the barn into a house which was never finished.
One day a UPS driver drove up the yard. I saw him look around and then decided to Han walk up to the chicken coop and knock on the door. The chickens cooed back at him. I came up behind him in my lime green urchin jacket and asked “Can I help you?” I swear he jumped three feet in the air. It was so funny!
So in “The Ladies Room” I enhanced this chicken coop decorating it like a home. But I first did this piece large..like a 22×30. There was an iron bar hanging from the window that somehow turned into a ribbon. I perfected that in the final piece making the middle size ( which is the size I have at home).