Suburbia

I call this “Suburbia”, it’s a 12”x16” oil painting from an old photograph that reminds me of a 1960s suburban scene. My goal here was to keep the integrity of this old Polaroid image: a little overexposed, or perhaps just faded with time.

I love the story old photographs tell, if only in our (my) imagination. And storytelling is part of why I’m drawn to paintings: both in my role as a painter and observer.

I cropped the woman on the right and now we have a story: three friends with the hint of one being left out. I imagine the brunette is the leader of this little trio, she somehow looks the most confident. She’s also pictorially the most dramatic. The high contrast pattern she’s wearing and her dark hair draw our eyes to her. These elements naturally fell into place and this little drama on canvas was born.