Rusted and Bent
This painting was inspired by the many street signs around Chicago that have been clipped by trucks taking the corner too sharply. They kind of look like leaves bending to the wind.
One night while this painting was on the easel, I happened to pass the Chicago Ampitheater which was in the process of being demolished. This was the site of the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention, but for me it was where the Chicago Auto Show was held until 1971 after the McCormick Place fire in January of '67 and the place where I saw Yes in the round from a front row seat in 1979. The intersection of Halsted and 47th is where the Ampitheater stood.
The rusted post is from one of the many railroad viaducts at this end of town. At one time there was a lot of industry as well as the Chicago Stockyards which made Chicago the hog butcher to the world.
42"x28" | oil on canvas | 1999