Name: Blood Water Paint
ISBN: 9780735232136

Joy McCullough

Blood Water Paint

Brooklyn Schuyler

Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint. She chose paint.

Blood water paint

Savannah Winchell

I felt this in my bones

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
5⭐️
- TW: rape

- I felt this in my bones.

- gorgeous prose
- I read it one sitting. It’s going straight to the favorites 
- my little art history heart is sobbing
- ARTEMISIA
- help

"Haunting ... teems with raw emotion, and McCullough deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it."—The New Yorker "I will be haunted and empowered by Artemisia Gentileschi's story for the rest of my life."—Amanda Lovelace, bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one A William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist 2018 National Book Award Longlist Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint. She chose paint. By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome's most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost. He will not consume my every thought. I am a painter. I will paint. Joy McCullough's bold novel in verse is a portrait of an artist as a young woman, filled with the soaring highs of creative inspiration and the devastating setbacks of a system built to break her. McCullough weaves Artemisia's heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisia's most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a woman's timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence. I will show you what a woman can do. ★"A captivating and impressive."—Booklist, starred review ★"Belongs on every YA shelf."—SLJ, starred review ★"Haunting."—Publishers Weekly, starred review ★"Luminous."—Shelf Awareness, starred review

Sheila

This was exceptional. Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the greatest Italian Baroque painters & one of my top artists, so I could not resist reading this! 

It's ultra rare for me to see - let alone read - a novel written in verse, but it worked so well here. Artemisia drawing upon the characters and stories of Susanna and Judith, to get her through the ordeal of her assault by Tassi & the later trial, was inspired.

My biggest gripe is that I don't understand why this book was classified as YA? At first I thought people here on GR were just shelving it on their YA shelves, but I noticed the publisher themselves classified it as YA and I see absolutely no reason why that is the case. I'm of the opinion that this novel is purely historical fiction, and I'll be shelving it that way.

Samantha Seeman

Blood Water Paint is the true story of famous painter Artemisia Gentileschi. When her mother dies, Artemisia has two choices, become a nun or grind pigment for her father’s paint. In the time it took for her to learn the trade, Artemisia also learned how to paint better than her father. By the time she was 17, she was painting his commissions for him, and he would sign his name at the bottom. In an effort to gain a huge commission, Artemisia’s father sets her up with a famous painter, to learn more skills. It is during that time that Artemisia is raped by her teacher. She lives during a time where you don’t speak out against men so she must decide to suffer in silence or let her voice be heard.

Without giving too much away, this book was heavy. The language was heavy, the content was heavy and overall it just felt like a ton of bricks were on my shoulders while reading this. I DID really like the excerpts of her mother’s stories of Susanna and Judith.