Blood Water Paint, Mccullough, Joy

I will be haunted and empowered by Artemisia Gentileschis 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 fathers paint.

She chose paint.

By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Romes 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 McCulloughs 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 Artemisias heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisias most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a womans timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence.

I will show you
what a woman can do.