www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-talk-naked-sarahsep30,0,4944201.storychicagotribune.com
Nothing conservative there
North Side tavern hangs nude portrait
—Emma Graves Fitzsimmons
September 30, 2008
There's been no shortage of takeoffs on Sarah Palin lately, from television skits to action figures, but Bruce Elliott has gone one step further than most. He's taken off her clothes.
Elliott, whose wife, Tobin Mitchen, owns the Old Town Ale House on Chicago's North Side, painted a nude portrait of the Republican vice presidential nominee and hung it above the bar, where it's now a prime attraction among his display of more than 200 celebrity portraits and other racy art.
Palin became Elliott's muse after he saw her on TV.
"I've been following her religiously," he said Monday at the bar. "I had never heard of her before, like everyone else. I find her bizarrely fascinating, even though I pretty much despise everything she stands for."
Despite their political differences, Elliott admits to a bit of a crush on the Alaska governor. He began painting her smile and trademark glasses, he said, before filling in the details: a gun, red high heels, polar bear rug, rugged Alaska landscape and a scared moose. His daughter, who looks a little like Palin and does a great impression of her, served as model for the governor's body.
Since Elliott, 68, hung the portrait Thursday, it's been a steady draw at the dive bar, which is a popular spot for Second City comedians to grab beers and play pinball after shows. But after the image hit the Internet on Monday, interest exploded.
"We got a bunch of people in tonight," Elliott said. "They're coming to take pictures with their camera phones. The photo is all over the place."
