View from the Parking Lot

Los Angeles is my adopted city, and this painting is in many ways a love letter to it. It captures many common LA features - a ramp leading into a parking lot, the ubiquitous clear blue sky, the unique LA desert light that throws everything into sharp contrast, flattening things out and moving towards geometric abstraction. I changed the colors of the walls to be pink and light green, common colors that I associate with this city.

While this scene could be almost anywhere in LA, the buildings in the distance give it away - this is based on a location in the DTLA Arts District. You can see LA City Hall peaking out at the end of the right hand side wall. I normally shy away from painting iconic buildings, but I find something fun and slightly subversive about depicting it tiny and (almost) insignificant in the distance. The scene celebrated here is ordinary, almost mundane. This feels hopeful, with the implication that any place can be special, joyful or worthy of attention.