Persona non grata

Maintaining the appropriate artistic persona is a nuisance. I've got a sense of humor, really, but it doesn't seem appropriate to exercise it anywhere in proximity to my hallowed works. After all, I'm not painting jack-in-the-boxes (jacks-in-the-box?) and cartoon wabbits. I do staid landscapes, so I need to seem earnest and thoughtful.

I remember back in grad school a woman who did these mournful, grim prints-- she was a total giggling dingbat. For all I know she was masking a miserable childhood, but I could never reconcile her work with her persona. It's a shame, because accommodating expectations that your disposition should exactly mirror your artwork feels like a trap.

So, a dog walks into a bar and says to the bartender...