In 2009, I decided to paint the Guggenheim each year for 20 years… this is #6…
Starting out with a deep orange wash, and, of course, a line drawing of everyone’s favorite Frank Lloyd Wright.
Sky and street, head and feet, then some cylindrical concrete.
Painting the apartment building behind the Guggenheim… creating a floating negative space. Speaking of negative, you’ll notice a blue accident front-and-center… I’m a big fan of a painting’s DNA, so you can actually see this mark if you look closely at the final painting. I also drew in the traffic light, but decided to leave it out.
This was one, long, intensive phase… painting nearly the entire building in one sitting.
How things are looking in context.
Down to the base… here, I was definitely feeling the pink tones (one of the original designs).
Back to the Futurism in the streets… an abstracted crosswalk, a visual salute to the under-painting. I’d imagine any under-painting would be proud to receive such respect.
The Guggenheim, in front of The Guggenheim. Now, all I have to do is print this picture, and photograph the image it inside the Guggenheim, and we will have achieved meta-status.
Carefully getting those windows in place. It was here I realized those orange windows on the apartment building from American Psycho would have to go.
Darker, more balanced, now? Pushing the details, looking, looking, making marks after careful consideration. As with all paintings, this one greatly morphs in different lighting… in daylight, the pink glows in a way nearly impossible to capture.
Chris Garrick and his amazing daughter Rose stopped by to say hello. Chris is actually about a foot taller than me, but he is crouching down quite a bit… a gesture I appreciate. Howard also dropped by, which was awesome. He was on his way to play tennis with a fine looking lady.
A long final look before signing… this is one of my favorite places in the World. I never tire of painting this building… good thing I have 14 years of Guggenheim ahead of me.
Guggenheim #6!
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