Where's My Umbrella?
2007 - 16"x12" Acrylic, colored pencil, charcoal, on canvas.
(Not For Sale)

The rectangular shapes started off as New York buildings and had windows. I decided to make them a little less obvious, and painted over them. I have a painting by Matt Sesow called "Giraffe". It's one of my favorite paintings and definitely inspired the giraffe in this painting. I have a few paintings with a snake in them. It's not phallic. I just like reptiles, especially snakes. The umbrellas were an accident. I believe there were a few vertical lines drawn, then I added a triangle on top of one of them, and thought of an umbrella. I remember thinking of Christo's umbrella exhibit in California, and made more umbrellas. The yellow brick road is Wizzard of Oz, but this was also an accident that started off with a few yellow squares. Giraffe is looking at all the umbrellas wondering which one was his.

I have certain amount of attachment to every painting, but this is definitely one of my favorites. The giraffe became a common theme in 2008, but this is the first giraffe painting. I prefer painting on wood since it's a solid, smooth surface. However, canvas always produces interesting and unique results. This one is a good example.

Here is a larger detailed photo: