Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Ladies Room 5am


before


after
Here is the ladies room at Sierra Madre park next to a baseball diamond. Not to many customers at 5am but I still felt a twinge of guilt. I would have gone into the mens, but it's light was off. I have two versions posted as you can see there was a tangent in my first version so I fixed it in the second and made other tiny adjustments.

Painters I like





Richard Bunkall

39 Comments:

Blogger Paintopolis said...

real nice one Bill A.K.A Creepy ladies room lurking guy

9:27 AM  
Blogger Jeff Mahorney said...

Yeah I see how that lets the negative space flow trough better. Very cool.
If some lady comes in you should look offended and yell "Excuse me! I'm trying to paint here!" Reminds me that Nathan Fowkes says the way to not get bothered while painting is to dress like the uni-bomber. heh heh.

9:34 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Ah, so we get to see what comes of being persistent. I suppose I can do the same if I dress like one of the weather men

2:48 PM  
Blogger Hattermad said...

Loverly latrines..where's that Bunkall from? Am no Bunkall scholar, but that is one I have not seen before...

if ever there was someone who deserves a retrospective and hopefully a BOOK it is he...

6:23 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

pretty hard to lurk, it's the size of a closet.

8:02 PM  
Blogger "JeanneG" said...

I was wondering what you were doing in the ladies room even at 5 am. Not my favorite hangout to paint but you did a good job. Probably with one eye on the door.

11:05 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Hey JM--I knew I'd get some ribbing for this one. I agree, Art should come before all body functions...

9:03 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

just get up early...

12:15 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Hatter I agree a Bunkall book would be great, but I bet it never happens his body of works is so small and he died as his fame was starting. this is form a Mendenhall show catalogue.

12:17 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

JG I wouldn't have the balls to paint live , even in the mens room. ;-)
this is from a photo-- but I felt nervous/ dirty even taking the pictures.

12:19 PM  
Blogger Daniel Peci said...

I like the heavy knifework:)

3:17 PM  
Blogger Hattermad said...

I never knew he sculpted too!

http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425549571/113327/sanctuarybr-h39-w12-d4.html


Bunkall

7:32 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for introducing Bunkall. That's got to be one of the most extraordinary paintings I've ever seen.

8:31 PM  
Blogger Jo Castillo said...

Very interesting. My smile for the night! Nice corrections by the way.

9:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Mr. Wray,

I remember meeting Bunkall at Art Center. I still have his first one man show catalogue from Laguna. He was amazing from the start. I am glad to see these trains as his early style was very much influenced by Asaro...another Giant.

I am saddened to hear that he died. I was not aware of that . Reminds me of another Brilliant Artist friend who died young...Stephen Lyman

Great Piece. Your edges are just WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

9:06 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

Hey Daniel,

Very little knife except to loose edges. The effect that looks like it is painting back into dry paint.

9:55 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

Hat yeah I love them and want to try it myself. I'd like to sculpt a city and paint from it.

9:56 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

Celeste-- What a amazing artist Bunkall was. I have to force myself not to copy him.

9:59 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

Thanks Joe a urinal is on the list ;-)

10:00 AM  
Blogger William K. Moore said...

And the 5 pm version? Out of the park Will. Nice tangent removal. The picture plane of the room is well designed based on the pov. Painterly paint application - tastey. Most pleasan viewing.

8:48 AM  
Blogger Urban Barbarian said...

I think everyone knows you use photographs and simply use a Photoshop filter to achieve your "look".

Nice try, faker.

10:55 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

thanks Frank--Took me a long time to lose those edges... I've seen so few Bunkalls in person... A retrospective at the Pasadena Museum would be nice . As you know he started with local view and then found his signature style. I'm still groping for mine.

12:10 PM  
Blogger Jala Pfaff said...

This restroom painting is so awesome!!!!

1:56 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

thanks Wk--- I was weird I saw the tangent and painted it anyway to be real. I get these blocks sometimes...

7:55 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

I'm sorry Dan I didn't know that was your wife.

7:56 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

thanks Jala

7:57 PM  
Blogger Patrice said...

Amazing how lovely you made that simple ladies room.

I could almost smell the air freshener...

8:37 PM  
Blogger Patrice said...

I forgot - Love the Bunkall, too.

8:38 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I think that most of your many admirers would suggest that you already have a style and that they love it. Inspired piece of work in terms of recognising this as interesting subject matter, it cetainly is in your hands. Full of all of those wonderful techniques of yours. oodles of lovely juicy paint applied in apparent dollops that read with so much detail and subtlety.

10:37 AM  
Blogger kellie said...

Perverse I may be, but once you pointed it out I liked the tangent!

The Bunkall picture of ship screws is great.

6:16 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

patrice--it could have used a little... but nicer than the mens...

3:00 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Mick I do agree I have something that is mine rolling along, but I feel there is something more that makes what an artist does definitively his... The good side is that unsatisfied feeling helps my drive to push on past disappointments and slow acceptance with the big galleries and keep working. I look at Bunkhall and he feels totally original to me.

3:04 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Kellie nice to hear from you. Interesting to see the other side of your art coin.

3:07 PM  
Blogger kellie said...

Since taking my first tentative and awkward steps at painting from life my admiration for your achievement has only increased!

3:24 PM  
Blogger Alia El-Bermani said...

I know this restroom all too well. My kids and I would go to that great park almost everyday. We now live in NC though so Sierra Madre is a bit of a commute. Also, I used to sell Bunkall's paintings when I worked for Diane Nelson in Laguna. Ahh so glad I found your blog... it's like coming home (and your paint is just gorgeous)!! Bravo.

5:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG! The man doesn't think he has a style of his own. The idea floors me--talk about instantly recognizable! If you are at all like me, utter consistency would make you feel like you were doing a parody of yourself and not painting honestly in the moment and would have to change.

8:25 PM  
Blogger susan hong-sammons said...

your painings are very cool. love how you take on the "ordinary."

3:03 PM  
Blogger Michael Pieczonka said...

cool symphony in white Bill. I love the soft feel it has.

10:05 PM  
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12:08 AM  

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