L.I.C. Construction Boom

Buildings, buildings everywhere

JacksonConstruction #1
Oil on canvas
10 x 10 inches

One of the reasons I decided to create a new series of L.I.C.-based paintings was due largely to the rapidly changing face of the neighborhood over the past several years. Having found my studio in 1980, I would watch as the occasional building went up or was renovated, with not too much fanfare or change to the local scene. In 1989, the Citicorp building was opened and word was that the neighborhood would undergo major changes, but that didn't really happen until just a few years ago. Now, when I walk out of my studio 5 - count 'em - 5 buildings are in development within a two block walk. I've been watching as these structures go up, changing daily, and knew that this would be one of the themes that I would explore when preparing this new series of works. This painting is of a rental building going up just down the block from me. I really liked the play of space created by the beams - abstract yet representational at the same time. Those guys just walk on those steel beams, moving them around and getting them into place so easily, it boggles the mind. I have to admit, it is really is fascinating watching a building go up, piece by piece. Since this painting was completed, the brickwork is now in place and I believe the structure will be completed by the spring. This scene, like so many others I've done, has aready been altered. I'm just trying to catch and hold onto a piece of time.