Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough is a novel in verse about a female painter named Artemesia Gentileschi. The novel encompasses events from her later teenage years.
Artemesia grew up in Rome in the 1600s. She was the oldest of three siblings, and the only daughter. Her mother passed away when she was young and Artemesia was faced with the choice of becoming a nun, or working as an apprentice for her father, who is a painter. The path she follows is her father’s apprentice. As it turns out, she had more talent than her father and this does not go unnoticed. Her father uses her talent to take him farther in the world of art. He even hires her a tutor to improve her talent, and also to find his way into improving his status as a painter.
