2017 - Library Diptych

This is the first painting I'd done in 7 years, since I left art school. They say that nothing kills your practice like the hangover you suffer from art school. Anyway, if art school taught me anything, it's that I'm not an artist, just "some guy", and that's a-OK.

I wanted to try something different from the photorealistic style I did back in school—to attempt something more illustrative instead, from the imagination, kind of like a childrens' book illustration. I was leaving the childrens' department at the Seward Park branch, switching to the adult department, so I felt this picture was a farewell of sorts. The real catalyst for painting again, though, was stumbling upon a Max Beckmann exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while my friend Cameron was visiting. Beckmann was a favorite of mine during my time at CalArts, so seeing the exhibit really brought out some strong feelings in me that I hand't really been in touch with since graduation. Some of the Beckmann paintings were done during the end of his life in New York—funnily enough, it was a painting he did in a bar that inspired me to do this picture. On Saturdays, the childrens' floor is madeningly crowded, and the commotion in the Beckmann painting struck me as similar to that of the childrens' floor. It was wonderful to be painting again. I found myself listening to music and getting acquainted with thought-patterns I hadn't experienced in years.

The image is a diptych—on the left panel is the childrens' floor in the 1930s. The right panel is the floor today. Together, the children of yesterday and today share the same table.

The painting now hangs on the 2nd floor of the Seward Park branch of the New York Public Library, where the childrens' room is found.