Back at 5 Pointz in Queens
While working in the courtyard I noticed a young boy painting on the little retainer wall near me. I found out that he was 14 years old and he and his dad were from the tiny country of Luxembourg in Europe. The family vacation to NYC included a trip to 5 Pointz to ‘get on’. How thrilling it was for this teenager to paint at the globally recognized mecca of graffiti and street art. His father was taking a plethora of photos, capturing this once in a lifetime moment of his son painting. This is the prime reason why 5 Pointz is a special place…it is in New York but it belongs to the world.
I also had the opportunity to speak with tourists that flood 5 Ptz everyday and I met two very nice people, a mother and son. The son resides in Brooklyn and his mom is a fine art painter from Mexico. She really liked the art education 5 Pointz provided by the unique visual experience. She also shared with me that my figure reminded her of a Modigliani painting of a reclining nude. I did appreciate that because that was the objective of my subject matter, for those knowledgeable of art history, to reconnect the past to the present and the traditional with the untraditional.
After the courtyard was done, Meres, the founder, organizer and curator of 5 Pointz, brought me up to the roof top where the murals are visible to the 7 train passengers. This was a very cool experience to be on the roof, alone in solitude with an audience riding by every few minutes and I was inspired by the skill level and colossal sizes of the murals already there. At the opposite end of the wall was an artist from Chile named Dasic, who was painting a huge mural of a female in a surrealist style. The highly photographed and classic 5 Pointz masterpiece, beautifully rendered Biggie Smalls painted in a grey scale by Od, also the internationally recognized flower by a NYC street art pioneer, Michael DeFeo (the Flower Guy) and Dustin Spagnola’s massive tiger. Spud from Canada painted his name in huge block letters and under him another NY local artist is Alice Mizrachi who came to paint her collage inspired female portrait the same day I began the roof top. It took me 3 days to complete and I enjoyed the peaceful time painting up there among the talented group of artists who’s work I am beside.
Special thanks to Meres and Marie for their tireless efforts and dedication to run this outdoor, urban art museum. It truly is an art educational experience where there is always something new to see and learn. If you have not gone to 5 Pointz, put it on your destination list, it is worth the trip.