"Break Time at Brick Street" - May 21, 2014

One of the reasons that I paint is to capture a moment in time.  While I’m painting, time is hurtling along outside my studio and awareness.  So when I finally experience some outdoor time I can be delighted or saddened by the changes I run across.  It was with sadness that I found closed the storefront that I painted last year.   This is one of the reasons I like to add to my portfolio under the heading Local Flavor – because things change.   Asked to define this painting for an exhibit last year, I gave the following explanation:  

“In this painting about time, vestiges of the past harmonize with the present day in the reflection on the window of the storefront.  The juxtaposition of past and present is further portrayed by the subject sitting on an old hand-hewn bench while using her smartphone on break.  From opposite sides of the street, the reflection of the car and vine represent the future converging with today.  Just as our present seems clear but the future is unknown, so appears the view through the window. “

I’ll probably never know the circumstances which caused the business to close.  What I will remember is that on that particular day I met a very interesting character and for a moment got to share her dream.  Back to my brushes. 

“It is sheer good fortune to miss somebody long before they leave you.”  - Toni Morrison

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