Day 13 - Shopping Day

So, this 30 in 30 has been all about experimenting and trying out new things.  One of the things artists have to consider is the scale of the artwork they are creating.  And when I work from photo references, I always have to consider how I am going to crop the image...  I have some panel cut offs hanging around my studio that are waiting for me to figure out what I am going to paint on them.  After snapping this picture the other day at my grocery store, I decided it would be awesome to try a very long, narrow, vertical composition... And see what happens.  I really like how the lines draw you through the composition and how it appears to be just a sliver of time, maybe as viewed through a narrow slit in a doorway....

Shopping Day, oil, 4"x12",
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Day 28 - Tagged

So, graffiti has a long and controversial history.  I myself can appreciate some graffiti.  Some would say all graffiti is a form of self expression and is therefore art.  I say, some graffiti is definitely art, and some graffiti is just plain stupid.  Just my opinion though.  Today's painting is titled "Tagged" because the graffiti behind the lady is what I understand to be tags, basically, the 'signature' of the person who wrote it there.  I have never cared for this kind of graffiti.  Much of it looks the same, slap dash and not well thought out.  Nothing artful about it.  However, when wandering around Prague on street view yesterday, I noticed more graffiti on the walls than seemed normal, at least where I am from.  It is literally everywhere... I was intrigued by this lady (who reminded me of my grandmother, how she always dressed impeccably) probably going home from shopping, with the graffiti covered wall behind her.  I almost titled the painting, "Turning a Blind Eye" because it seemed to me that perhaps she has walked down this street her whole life, but it wasn't always riddled with graffiti.  Now it is, and she has to walk by it everyday.... So she turns a blind eye.... Anyway, who knows.  That's what I love about painting.... the stories they tell.  Maybe you see a different story!

Tagged, oil on panel, 6"x6"
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