This painting, which is enormous by the way, is my love letter to my city. Much like my relationship with Sacramento, the process in making this painting was quite tumultuous. At the start, I had a large canvas, bigger than I usually use, and a tub full of nearly empty paint tubes. I wanted to use up my remaining paint before purchasing any more, so I began distributing random colors on my blank canvas. After the first layer, I ended up with something like this…
It was a little boring to start. Not enough colors, not enough shapes. It was sad, lonely, like winter in Sacramento. It reminds me of when I first moved to midtown. I had few friends, I was young, naive, green. Of course, at this point, it was clear that I was not finished… so I added another layer.
I added some warm shades to the cool colors and though I could see something beginning to develop, it just wasn’t quite happening for me yet. It was warming up, changing to spring… then I added another layer.
Adding some black and white details, some lines, some dots, my lonely piece started to become more lively, more like a party. The painting was starting to become more reminiscent of my midtown experiences now. Filled with familiar faces, fun, fashion, friends… But it wasn’t done yet, so I added another layer.
I washed a translucent layer of yellow, and then a translucent layer of white over the top of my then over active, too brightly colored canvas, bringing all the shapes together into one community, into one cohesive product. I then added a grid, my streets, my city. Finally, to complete it, I added swaths of gold, a light sheen of sparkle, and a grid of fine threads. And finally, my city emerged. This is my Sacramento, the way I see it. Layers of loneliness, mixed with happiness, mixed with partying, mixed with tiny important details… its people, and brought all together under a blanket of community, under the two most precious words… The Grid.
I am currently working on a series of smaller paintings in this style. They will be in the price range of $100 to $500. Please check back for updates.
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