That is Priceless by Steve Melcher for June 15, 2021

Man taking dictation from the voices coming from the statue.

Tony the fashion designer set the Italian fashion industry back several years.

“I am Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg. You may refer to me as Generalissimo”

I am calculating how much money we could save if you just turned the AC down a little from ‘Arctic’

“A rhododendron is a rhododendron is a…” Hmmm, not right. Oh, Alice. Name some flowers for me, please.

Giuseppe figured that having his portrait painted with him writing a letter at his desk would make him look smart and hard working. Unfortunately, he ran out of things to say after the first three sentences.

That embarrassing moment when one is caught reading parchment porn…

For 15 months, Tommaso had gotten used to working from home with no pants on, but when the portraitist arrived unexpectedly, he was able to position his lap blanket strategically.

“I have drapes draped over me, of course. That’s what drapes are for, draping. Don’t feel bad, at least a dozen other simpletons have asked me the same silly question.”

Blessed and freed by the “Statu(t)e of Limitations,” Dante feels he may now explore the Inferno and keep his Virgility!

I want to check out some of the artist’s work – I’m wondering if posing his models in such a bizarre fashion was a regular thing with him.

Sir, a person from Porlock at the door says he must urgently see you. Is it xanadu or are we still at xanadon’t?

Was poet, Tommaso Gargallo, / inspired by a bronze of Apollo / (who might, playing his lyre, / set Tom’s spirit afire) / to pen verses critics might swallow? /// Tommaso, alas, was distracted. / Too long since a lass interacted / in ways that were carnal. / This house now seemed charnel / and, sadly, his quill had retracted.

I may be an impoverished Bohemian, living in a frigid attic with no warm clothing or fuel for the stove, but I’ll be damned before I burn these dirty limericks.

“Do you MIND ? I’m writing limericks here..”

“Allora ..”said Giuseppe Patania./ "I wonder what rhymes with ‘Melania’. "/ But to his devastation, / no new inspiration/ -came, so he headed to Allemania.///And there beside Goethe and Schiller/ (each man of “Krautlit” is a pillar !)/ in a moment of clarity/ (or perhaps “divine charity”)/he decided on writing a thriller./// And when to the South he returned/ where his works, hitherto, had been spurned/ a fortune he’d earned/ hence was quite unconcerned/ when he found all his limericks burned.

After yesterday’s guy, I’m not so bad looking. Am I?

I might even have a shot at the new Dating Game.

“Don’t judge me. You know nothing about the real me. I use to be famous. I was the talk of the town and loved by millions. Perhaps you remember my stage name, Pee-wee Herman?”

Another example of an artist messing with a patron, “It will make you look classic, godlike.” (Snicker, giggle.)

Now let me see, how do you spell…….

tommaso gargallo had a thing for mellow yellow marshmallow, but in his bungalow hollow he just couldn’t swallow a callow pillow, mellow billow, and follow slow dayglow or go with the flow…

Not at all embarrassed by his need for, nor the size of, his security blanket.

Andy Garcia writing his shoping list before finally going out for the first time in 14 months….

So, even Italians aren’t immune to the deleterious effects of too much pasta and cheese.

Paul Simon writing “A Poem On The Underground Wall”.

“Oh, hey! I’m just about ready for the toga party”…

Jeffery Toobin writes an apology letter.

He’s a dignified kind of a chap/ who keeps curtains over his lap./ Although he’s “all male”/ he hates to unveil/ since Ms. Jackson’s “wardrobe mishap”…

Steve Melcher, you are so clever. How do you come up with these? Always going in a direction I did not expect. :-) Thanks!

Just a minute, Lisa. After I finish this note, we can begin our oral exercise.

Portrait of Tommaso Gargallo: 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tommaso-gargallo_patania-2.jpg 

(best viewed with Google Chrome, with Google Translate added to chrome://extensions, which can automatically translate most webpages as necessary) has info and links that point to more info about this painting.

https://www.galleriarecta.it/opereautore/patania-giuseppe/ 

https://siracusae.it/giuseppe-patania/ 

https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/giuseppe-patania_(Dizionario-Biografico) 

all have Italian info, or links that point to more info, about this artist (again, Chrome can translate as necessary), perhaps in addition to what’s pointed to by the title URL. First work by him used here.

Again, a larger strip image is shown by (⌘- or Ctrl-) clicking the image in Mr. Melcher’s MASTERPIECE #2727 (June 14, 2021) blog entry, accessible by the Check out the blog! box after the last comment.

Does this drape make my butt look big?

Merle was struck by the inspiration that if he put a ball in the end of a quill and filled the quill shaft with ink, it might be a better writing instrument than his dart.

“I’m writing a story about you doing a painting of me.”

Of course your writing isn’t going well. You are using a left handed pen.