2/11

my friend lynn umlauf died about 10 days ago...
she was married to the painter michael goldberg
who had been a friend of my parents,
i grew up with one of his paintings in our living room.

i had photographed michael when i was working on a book
of my father's friends,
but reconnected with him
when i started painting.

he invited me to sit in on his life drawing classes at SVA
and occasionally his wife lynn would sub for him,
when she did,
he would announce to the class,
"i won't be here next week, but my wife, lynn umlauf will take over,
you are in for a treat,
she is a much better teacher than i am"
and
he was right,
michael had a rather laissez-faire attitude,
lynn was rigorous, direct and committed as teacher
(well, as a person too).

i became friends with them as a couple
and then,
after michael died
my friendship with lynn continued.

she was a marvelous artist,
invigorated by color,
who created a broad range of work
from painting to sculpture
using a wide array of materials
in extraordinary ways