Most celebrities are chary about admitting theyâre having plastic surgery. Iâve decided to bore you with all the details.
 |
| It’s called ptosis, and it can be fixed with crutches or surgery. |
Years ago I decided that Iâd never have plastic surgery. I didnât want to take a chance that my daughters would one day have to admit, âMy mom died having a boob job.â So the first time my ophthalmologist suggested that I needed my eyes âliftedâ, I just laughed. My fatherâs eyes were hooded, my grandmotherâs eyes were hooded; if they could live with them, so could I.
 |
| Until now I thought those heavy eyelids made a great sun visor. I guess not. |
Nonetheless, Iâve been having increasing trouble seeing, and thatâs not good for an artist. Although I have symptoms of cataracts, my ophthalmologist tells me thatâs not the problem. Yesterday I took a field-of-vision test. It proved to me that my droopy eyelids really are causing less light to reach my eyes. (Hopefully, my insurance company will be equally convinced.) So very shortly Iâm gonna let a man with a knife mess with my lovely face.
 |
| I never had a visible eyelid. |
My grandmother, father, siblings, and three of my four children all have that epicanthal fold, which is a trait more commonly seen in Asians. It was no problem when I was eight, but at 55, the skin on my lids has fallen forward and is covering my pupil.
 |
| Why do some Northern Europeans have that Mongol eye? Some speculate that the layer of fat above the eye protects it from extreme cold–and that Renee Zellweger recently had the same eye surgery to disguise her ethnic eyes. (Maybe she was just having trouble seeing, too.) |
It will take about a week to recover, during which time I plan to listen to books on tape. But in the meantime, I need to zip up to Maine to do some reconnoitering for next yearâs workshop.
Let me know if youâre interested in painting with me in Maine in 2015 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.