Rosie O'Doughnut expresses herself on Duval Street & Kerry's Sister Does Key West

KEY WEST — "How much damage can he do?"

The haunting question has been clipped from a news magazine and plastered alongside pictures of President George W. Bush, a cutout of the color-coded homeland security advisory system and photos of a newborn baby.

Out of chaos comes order, as the viewer steps back from the smear of random bits of graffiti to discover a very clear, direct and serious personal message.

"He is the most divisive president we've ever had," the artist asserts, "and I think he has caused more harm than any president in recent memory."

Rosie O'Donnell is the artist.

"In March '03" is the title of this particular work, created in response to President Bush ordering troops into action in Iraq more than a year ago. Like so many of her other paintings and collages, it serves as an expression of O'Donnell's thoughts, feelings and emotions in response to the ever-changing world around her. Her work has been described as "a visual journal" of abstract expression, punctuated with sometimes harsh realism.

"Each work is a snapshot of a moment in time that represents what Rosie wants to say on the subject at hand," a promotional pamphlet reads.

O'Donnell visited Key West on Wednesday, one of several stops on a gay family vacation cruise that she and her family embarked on a week ago. After receiving the key to the city, the Emmy Award-winning talk show host and gay rights activist stopped at Luis Sottil Studios on Duval Street to meet art collectors and buyers and to sign some of her original works.

In an exclusive interview with The Citizen at the art studio, O'Donnell reacted to the U.S. Senate's rejection earlier in the day of a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriages. She also touched on life with her spouse, Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell, whom she married in a civil ceremony earlier this year, her adopted children Parker, Chelsea and Blake, her new gay family-friendly cruise line and influences on her artwork.

The Citizen: Why is the issue of same-sex marriage being brought to our attention at this particular time?

Rosie O'Donnell: Because George Bush would like to distract Americans from the fact that he has started a war based on pure fabrication and that over 900 of America's poor have been killed in action. For what? For the arrest of Saddam Hussein. Well, that's not an equal trade if you ask me, or if you ask the parents, the brothers, the sisters, the children of the dead soldiers. People say: Well, peace is not patriotic. Well, guess what, peace is very patriotic. I'm very supportive of our military and when we ask them to go to war that it's for a worthy cause. This war, there is no worthy cause. We have done such damage to ourselves, as a nation, in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Citizen: Changing gears a bit, how's the cruise going?

O'Donnell: Really, really well. Everyone's having fun. I never see Kelli, which is kind of interesting. She runs in, gets on the phone and runs out. You know, our kids are having fun. Everybody's having fun. There's a lot of people with lives that don't allow them to be as open as they could be on the cruise. To see the sense of freedom that they and their children feel is very fulfilling.

Citizen: How's married life treating you?

O'Donnell: Pretty good. I think I've been married to Kelli since probably shortly after our six-month anniversary. That's when I told her parents that we were going to do this for the long haul. Going to San Francisco really was inspired, in many ways, by the fact that during a war our president held a press conference to denounce gays and marriage as the big issue in our nation, just as he was sending our 22-year-olds off to be killed. I thought it was absurd and was so transparent, his motive was so transparent. I think America feels that, too. With the vote today in the Senate, I think even the senators are looking at President Bush in a different light. He is the most divisive president we've ever had, and I think he has caused more harm than any president in recent memory.

Citizen: I read that a lot of your artwork comes out of your reaction to current events. Are you feeling any artwork coming out of today's vote in the Senate?

O'Donnell: You know, I actually believed that the Senate would do what they did. A lot of people in the gay community were saying: What are you? Nuts? When it comes right down to it, look at the McCarthy era. You stand up and you say: Have you no decency? You're called, you're tapped on the shoulder, you're a senator and you're asked to put discrimination into the Constitution. I don't care what your party affiliation is. The ones who voted for the amendment ... I hope that what will happen is the opposite of what the president expected, which was that anyone who voted to reject this amendment would be chastised, that it would hurt their career. I think the opposite is going to happen. I would love just to get the list and the faces of every single person who voted for the amendment and support the person running against them. I mean, how absurd is that?

Citizen: Tell me about your interest in abstract expressionism.

O'Donnell: Well, I started painting after Sept. 11. I had always done collages and journals. I had all these images from Sept. 11, from magazines and newspapers. I couldn't throw them away. I didn't know what to do with them, so I started gluing them on canvas and painting over them. And, so it began. By the time I got to know [New York gallery owner and fine art publisher] Mitch [Meisner], I think I had 1,000 or 2,000 images, something absurd. He said: Well, let me take them and see what we can do. Then, I started to learn about art. He got me a book on [Jean-Michel] Basquiat. You can see the influence of Basquiat. I got another book, on [Willem] DeKoening. So, I'm starting to be educated as I go. I was the kind of person who would go into Madonna's house and go: Oh, my God, that's so nice. Who did that? She's like: Monet! And, I'm like: Oh! He's good! Some nice ponds he made! I didn't really know a lot about art, so I'm getting my education as I go.

O'Donnell: He and Keith Herring were the two artists I was very familiar with before I started. In our culture, they were the ones who I could identify their work right away. Then, Basquiat, I had seen the movie, but I had never seen his work. I didn't have a book of it. I have since seen the real ones. Collectors had seen the show and said: You have to see the real ones. So, it was very inspiring. But, the more you look at other artists, real artists ... [points to colorful painting on the wall] like this guy, I think that I shouldn't paint. To me, that is electric and alive.

Citizen: Have you been to Key West before?

O'Donnell: Never have. Kelli has, but I never have.

Citizen: How do you like it?

O'Donnell: You know, Miami is my favorite place in the world. When I had no money, I used to go visit my friends, like Madonna — [rolls her eyes] uh-oh, I've said her name twice in an interview, that's going to seem weird — and I would have a rented car, and I would drive around Star Island and I would say to myself: When I have money, I'm going to buy one of these houses. Then, I'd go sleep in one of her guest rooms. As soon as I got some money, it was the first thing I did was buy a house on Star Island. To me, it is perfection, it's paradise. We've never come here, but we go to Islamorada, to the Moorings, a lot. This summer, we're going to make a trip, come down here. It's beautiful. It really is.

Citizen: You should be Fantasy Fest grand marshal. Do you know Fantasy Fest?

O'Donnell: No.

Citizen: It's like Mardi Gras at the end of October, with parades and costumes. It's a wild time.

O'Donnell: Really?! I'll do it! I'll do it!

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