Genesis...

Genesis   oil/canvas   20 x 60 x 1.5

Genesis is unlike anything else I have painted up to this point. But the seed for this work has been in my brain for more years than I can remember. It is currently on exhibition in Kaleidoscope 2009 at Summit Artspace. Some viewers have asked, "Is it Lakemore?", "is it Barberton?", is it Firestone Park?", is it "North Hill?". The truth is all of the above. It is also Pittsburgh and Gary, Indiana. These are the neighborhoods at the core of every Midwestern city. These are the houses that were inhabited by the rubber workers and the steel workers. These are the homes that my grandparents lived in, the homes that we visited on holidays. I can remember looking out of our car window during the dark season en route to visit my grandmother. These are the neighborhoods that I saw. And these neighborhoods existed before we understood the notion of "suburb".

The image in my mind included more roof top.....as if viewed from above on a hill. But when I went looking for reference material, I realized that the viewpoints of my mind existed only behind the chain link properties of the expressways. Stopping on the expressway in the snow, climbing chain link fences and exploring expressway land seemed impossible. So my references were gathered from many places and put together in my own neighborhood composite drawing and resultant painting. It was a painting that just had to be.

It just could be Hazel Street near City Hospital in Akron.