Posters from Foreign Lands

Posters from France

As many of my readers will already know - my paintings are almost always done on a collage base created with posters "appropriated" from the streets. In past years I would find most of my material on plywood hoardings around building sites in the Mission district of San Francisco. With the gentrification of the neighborhood and tighter city laws governing illegal postings and graffiti clean-up my supply of posters started to dwindle. At the same time a very good friend started to bring back posters from the streets of France after her annual visits. This has kept me going for a long time - thanks Diane!

About six months ago I met a couple who were interested in my work and were inspired by the story of my French posters. They subsequently did some travels of their own to places including Turin and St. Petersburg and decided that they would contribute to my stash of international posters.

(At this point I feel I have to tell you that I am not talking about a young twenty-something couple Inter-Railing around Europe with their backpacks. The couple in question are older, sophisticated, and very respectable. They shall be known here as Jean and Rod) 

Posters from Russia, Germany, and Italy.

This adventurous couple recently came back to my studio bearing posters, one of which was very large and several layers thick. Apparently, while attempting to peel this off a wall in Turin, Rod was disturbed and threatened with the police, at which point he jumped off the ledge on which he was perched, rolled up the detached poster, slid it down the back of his shirt, jumped on his bicycle and made his escape through the narrow streets. 

Part of a Russian poster makes it's way into an under-painting.

A big Thank You! to all my friends and followers who go to great lengths to bring me posters. 

But please - don't get arrested!