The Chicago Traveler

When Sarah Palin first entered the Presidential race as John McCain's candidate for vice-president, very few people had any idea who she was. In their hunt for information about her and her political views, many reporters, bloggers, and pundits have criticized her for her lack of interviews and media exposure. Now, she's getting plenty of exposure in a Chicago bar.

The Old Town Ale House is a dive bar in the Old Town neighborhood that is well-known for its hundreds of adult-themed paintings of bar regulars and famous Chicagoans. Its most recent addition is a portrait of Sarah Palin' nude.

The four-foot-tall (1.2 m) oil painting portrays the Alaska governor standing on a polar-bear-skin rug ('she doesn't believe in global warming,' said the creator) and toting an automatic rifle ('she's really into hunting'). In the picture, Palin is wearing nothing but a pair of red stiletto heels and her trademark eyeglasses. A window in the background looks out onto an Alaska landscape, complete with a moose. (The adults-only uncensored portrait can be viewed here.)

So what inspired Bruce Elliott, who owns the bar along with his wife, to paint the piece? 'My daughter is a heck of a stand-in for Sarah Palin,' he told WindyCitizen.com. 'She can even do the voice.' In fact, Elliott's daughter, Grace, is such a good double for the potential V.P., she served as the model. That's right. She posed nude for her dad.

Ewwwww.

Elliott is a fan of Barack Obama's for this year's election, but he found himself oddly 'drawn' to Palin. 'I had never heard of her, like everyone else. I find her bizarrely fascinating, even though I pretty much despise everything she stands for.' (Chicago Tribune)

You know what I find 'bizarrely fascinating- It's the artist's daughter! And I'd have to agree with Scott Smith of the TOC Blog on this one: 'If [she] is bartending when I'm in there, I'm probably going to have to leave because I'll be too uncomfortable to order a drink.'

Photo credit: (c/o Flickr) bbeanan, swanksalot (1, 2)