Thursday, January 11, 2007

Liquor


12x16 Oil on RMLP


Here is a Liquor store in Pasadena on the north side of the Freeway that is literally called "liquor" I liked it's complete generic quality. It's kind of an ordinary little old building, but at night It's got some kind of indefinable quality due to its age that make it art to me. They are flattening this kind of place at an astonishing rate around here, I guess there are still some around at all simply because Liquor stores are cash cows.

43 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

silence, the dark, calm... a good atmosphere for one night calm, although also could be the principle of one night anxious ¡¡
By the way nice work 8)

6:10 AM  
Blogger Ron Morrison said...

Its now and then, and probably soon to be gone. The way you have documented it will give me a resonant visual memory of something I've never seen. Cool.

7:06 AM  
Blogger Leslie Sealey said...

This had the feeling of an Edward Hopper painting-I like the murky night atmosphere, and the touch of blue is a perfect contrast!

7:47 AM  
Blogger William K. Moore said...

Great nocture! I like the way you adjust the color to avoid the awful "night photo" look you get from many digital cameras. Also a warm feel to it and reminds me of many nefarious adventures of old.

11:07 AM  
Blogger tonypetersart said...

Very nice. Gotta love the nocturnes.

2:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Happy new year William!
I admire so much painting at night, I find it very difficult myself.

2:52 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

WOW!! Stunning!

5:04 PM  
Blogger Shawn Dickinson said...

I love the "mood" of this painting. Very nice! I like the lighting.

I think old buildings have so much more character to them. Even the fairly simplified ones like this liquor store. It's a shame that people tear these down and put newer blander structures in their place. This building has history to it, and it will soon be wiped out...Good to see that great artists such as yourself can somehow preserve the memory of it.

5:53 PM  
Blogger Urban Barbarian said...

As a founding member of Drink and Draw this one had me at first click. Bravo!

6:50 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Hey Q-- that's me scary looking, but I can be nice. We are what we paint.

11:01 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

11:04 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Ron,

back at you! I feel the same way about the places you're painting--

11:05 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Leslie: Hopper eh? I wish, he is a big hero of mine. I just got the catalogue raisonne. I only could afford it as it was a damaged copy...

11:13 PM  
Blogger Stefan Nuetzel said...

A splendid painting!!

5:12 AM  
Blogger Mark Oberndorf said...

AMAZING piece William!! BRAVO!!
I bought the Hopper catalogue at the Strand bookstore a few years ago for $40 because of minor water damage. The employee just put it out right in front of me like I was meant to own it.
Keep up the phenomenal work!!

8:08 AM  
Blogger Chris Ousley said...

I love nocturnes. If I drank Thunderbird or MD 20/20 this would be the place to go. Hopper would approve this painting. Plenty of places like that here in Nashville.
I visited your website and your influence page. Fechin is your man! I called my wife up and said "check this guy out, he turned a transformer into a fine painting! You all have it going on out there in CA.

9:00 AM  
Blogger Mike Thompson said...

Brilliant!

10:32 AM  
Blogger Chuck Rose said...

You're like the Tom Waits of Plein Air, you know that?

7:37 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Wk I guess I'm lucky, often my photos look warm, I have to remember to add cools...

10:29 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Tony, yes you do.

10:29 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Stef,

I just work form photo's. I jsut keep doing it until they started to work more or less.

10:31 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

AC Yes!

10:31 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

My thoughts exactly Shawn, soon I'll be torn down and replaced, you better get to work. You will have to take over.

11:36 PM  
Blogger Dominic Bugatto said...

There's a lot of 'darkness' creeping into the new work.


Love the mood.

7:42 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

Dan,

Liquor and drinking don't mix, it's not like you could take the sketches you did drunk and sell them in a book. What a waste of time.

1:06 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Hey Stefan, Your's are pretty splendid too!

1:07 PM  
Blogger Shawn Dickinson said...

>>My thoughts exactly Shawn, soon I'll be torn down and replaced, you better get to work. You will have to take over. <<

My comic book series, Untamed Highway, is about this very subject.

2:06 PM  
Blogger BoneDaddy said...

I like the "beacon of light" amidst the seedier atmosphere--adds a hint of irony, too.

7:10 PM  
Blogger BoneDaddy said...

Oh, and well-said, Shawn--I love that concept of your comic.

7:11 PM  
Blogger Crawlspace said...

There was a liquor store near the college I went to. It had a big sign that said, "Drive Thru". Unfortunately some inconsiderater person parked their building in the drive through lane. It's a shame.

This painting is quite nice. It feels desolate, dark and good for a drink.

8:11 PM  
Blogger Jesse said...

**The above comment is mine.

8:12 PM  
Blogger BoneDaddy said...

And Chuck Rose, yes! The Tom Waits of Plein Air indeed! Maaaaybe a little more coherent, but thought provoking and emotive with a touch of sad humor nonetheless.

10:52 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Mark , It's amazing Hopper keeps growing on me more and more.

12:03 AM  
Blogger Urban Barbarian said...

True that. What am I thinking... Madness!

11:25 AM  
Blogger Mike Manley said...

Very nice Bill, one of my faves by you. I can smell the night air in this one.

2:13 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

thanks C.
Fechin is amazing, I can't get over his work. I'm dieing to see a big show sometime. Thanks for the kind words.

9:24 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Mike-- I don't know about that , but thanks.

9:25 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Chuck,

I never got Tom Waits, but I think I get you analogy and I thank you.

9:27 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Dom,

You have no idea how dark it goes, happy i'm still here.

9:29 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

BG -- Not conspicuously intended, but God knows how many use liquor to go on in this world, a close second to religion or salvations leader?

9:32 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Damn Crawl,
I hate it when that happens. out of town developers who bought our city "fathers" are about to park 72 condo's over our tiny corner market. So fucked.

9:40 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Ok Jess-- Of course it was.

9:41 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Hey Mike with a touch of stale beer, a hint of vomit and pinch of pee?

9:43 PM  

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