Paintings Found in the Home of Portuous Altwick Nov 22, 2012

"Picnic"
A white ceramic plate with two long buns cut halfway through and opened lengthwise^†. In one roll is a fork, and the other a knife.

† It is unclear whether Altwick intended the silverware to be read as frankfurters.

"Desire"
In the evening, a figure is bent at the edge of a dark body of water, mending a fishing net. A fish is jumping out of the water just a few yards out, unseen.

"Paint"
A frame hung on a wall, with a branching twig suspended in the center where the canvas would be.

"Breakfast"
A cutting board with a fork and knife at the left as if at a table setting. On the right and slightly above center is a circular waffle^†.

† The waffle evolved alongside communion wafers, and its modern form is only definitively attested a century or two after Altwick's death. (See the gambling man with waffles strapped to his head in Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Fight between Carnival and Lent. His son produced a copy of this painting in which the waffles remain, but the strap is omitted.)

"Death"
A clump of dirt out of which sprouts a pale green seedling of indeterminate species, sitting alone in the center of a wooden chair. The wall is a flat white and wainscoting.

"Salt"
On a window sill, an empty salt cellar sits next to a coarse white ball.

"Tree"
A red shed with white trim in midafternoon light. The door is ajar and an orange cat sits nearby, looking toward the sky with eyes closed.

Altwick's last words were said to be,

"I would rather be a shattered diamond
than a flawless shingle."

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Paintings Found in the Home of Portuous Altwick

linked from:
- The Apocalypse of Porturus Alwick
- The Last Will and Testament of Alturus Portwick

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