After a very successful Somerville Open Studios I kind of dropped off the artmaking map.
But finally – after a full month of not painting – I have finished another painting.
The goal of this piece was to capture a bit of the anonymous beauty of living in Somerville. I’m quite taken with the way the light rakes across the buildings at sunset, and the simple repetitive geometry of the triple decker houses.
Another House. Oil on board. 11″x14″ 2014.
Every now and then I’ll see someone on the subway who is interesting, and I will surreptitiously snap a photo. Not humorous or mocking or lecherous. Just…interesting.
As I have gathered these photos I began thinking about what an odd experience riding the subway (or any public transit) is: you are voluntarily putting yourself in a confined space with a bunch of strangers, all of whom – like you – are doing their best to avoid any sort of personal contact. It is public, yet private. Tedious, yet necessary.
At the same time I began to wonder what would happen if I applied a very traditional and personal medium – indirect oil portraiture – to a situation steeped in cold, impersonal observation such as surveillance cameras.
The first painting was published last year, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to explore. This week I published a new gallery on my website called Travelers.
I hope you enjoy! (click the link above for the rest of the series so far)
Travelers #3 : Oil on board, 9″x12″ 2014
Its difficult to photograph a wet painting and not get a bunch of glare so…sorry for that.
New idea I’ve been playing with. You saw the sketch last week. Here’s the finished (almost) product.
Yellow House : Oil on board. 9″x12″ 2013
House in Streetlight : Pencil 3″x4″ 2013
I love the Boston skyline, especially from the Mass Ave bridge.
adam's art work 