Serendipitous Art: Wall with Spots, San Francisco

I came across this scene on a wall adjacent to a North Beach parking lot recently. It looked like art to me. Unintended art, serendipitous art.   

Serendipitous Art: Truck Paint

Paint on the side of an old truck apparently under restoration looked like art to me. Unintended art, serendipitous art. 

For more serendipitous art, see my Serendipitous Art blog at http://serendipitousart.blogspot.com 

Serendipitous Art: Yellow Curb Paint and Exposed Aggregate (July 10, 2021)

Old paint and a strip of exposed aggregate at the curb today caught my eye. Unintended art. 

Click on the image for a larger view.

For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art. 

Serendipitous Art: Peeling Blue Paint

Peeling paint, in layers, on the side of a building looked like art to me. Unintended art. 

Click on the image for a larger view. For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.  

Serendipitous Art: Red, White, and Black (August 5, 2018)

A perfect, unintended composition. Paint and glue on concrete. Serendipitous art.

Click on the image for a larger view. For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Serendipitous Art: Tape and Numbers on Green (April 16, 2018)

Tape and scrawled numbers on a green-painted sheet of metal looked like art to me. Serendipitous art.

Click on the image for a larger view. For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Serendipitous Art: Paint and Shadows (August 19, 2017)

A patch of paint, a spill, pieces of tape, and light came together to make this unintended composition. Serendipitous art.

Click on the image for a larger view. For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Serendipitous Art: Dustpan (June 22, 2017)

A paint-smeared dustpan leaning against a wall looked like art to me. Unintended art.

For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Serendipitous Art: Rust and Red and White (May 17, 2017)

Rust on a pole painted red and white looked like art to me. Unintended art, serendipitous art.

For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Serendipitous Art: Black on Black (February 2, 2017)

Black paint on black boards in a window painted black with a black frame. Black on black. Unintended art.

For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Art I'm Looking At: Joey Enos Sculpture at Hammerfriar Gallery, Healdsburg

A new show at Hammerfriar Gallery, in Healdsburg, is something of a departure from the more sophisticated fare usually on display there (the just-ended show of photography by Elizabeth Sunday was superb). The gallery is now showing sculpture by Joey Enos, who works in what is essentially painted, plastic-covered styrofoam.

The sculptures (some free-standing, some fairly flat and wall-hung) are visually appealing; they are brightly colored, playful, and light-hearted. They evoke cartoons, theme park scenery, or the kind of theater set that aims to create a stylized façade rather than to imitate reality. Enos carves styrofoam to look like wood—not real wood but cartoon illustrations of wood—and so the "wood" is twice removed from actual wood. There are oversized, bent nails (these, too made of carved foam) in some pieces that look like something Wiley E. Coyote might have hastily hammered into a contraption for catching the Roadrunner. Other sculptures feature large "bolts." One piece is a large slice of Swiss cheese suspended by chains within a simple "wood" frame. Other works are a little more complex, totem-like, and resembling driftwood sculptures—albeit garishly painted ones.

The paint is actually pigmented resin sprayed onto the styrofoam forms, a process the artist subcontracts to a spraying plant. The effect is flat and un-nuanced. While Enos designs these pieces and oversees their production, a substantial portion of their creation is outsourced. There is no "hand of the artist" to see here and what there is to see is quickly absorbed. The sculptures are fun to look at, perhaps, and, having talked with the artist at the opening reception, I appreciate that he is in earnest, but I wonder if these works are capable of sustaining long interest?  

Serendipitous Art: Parking Garage Spots (November 28, 2014)

The textured floor of a parking garage. An unlikely place to find something that seems so decorative. Everyone likes polka dots, right? Unintended art, serendipitous art.

For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Art I'm Making: New Collages

I make collages by pasting together pieces of paper onto which I've directly painted with acrylic paints or made mono-prints on (again using acrylics). I recently made some attractive mossy green prints that have become part of new collages. Shown here are my Untitled Collage No. 48 (Santa Rosa) and Untitled Collage No. 49 (Santa Rosa).

Click on the images for larger views. For more, use the Art I'm Making tab to the right or visit my collage and photography website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ (requires Flash Player).

Visit my studio during the 2014 Sonoma County Art Trails open studios event, Saturday and Sunday, October 11th and 12th and Saturday and Sunday, October 18th and 19th, 2014.

Serendipitous Art: Paint and Street Markings

Recently on business in the Haight in San Francisco I had a little time between appointments to wander the streets. I found this patch of spilled blue paint run over by a tire atop a bright yellow street marking of some kind. I thought it an interesting abstract composition. Unintended art, serendipitous art.

For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 33 (Santa Rosa)--March 23, 2014

A new abstract collage in indigo and peachy tones. This one ended up divided into two zones. It looks like a cut-away view of a piece of land with a blue chthonic zone below and something ethereal above. That was not intended and not important really. I just liked the colors and the textures of the acrylic mono-printed and painted paper elements I used. The image is 11cm x 14.5cm. Click on the picture for a larger view. For more, use the "Art I'm Making" tab at right.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 32 (Santa Rosa), March 8, 2014

There's a large pile of painted paper scraps on the floor of my office/studio. Yesterday, I began combing through them, looking for the more interesting pieces. Having set aside a few scraps with appealing colors and attractive patterns, I began to set some of them side by side and quickly came up with a new composition, again using mostly indigo and orange. Although unintentional, this one has something of the feel of a landscape.

Found Art: Eared Disc on Market St. (November 26, 2013)

Crossing Market St. in San Francisco on the weekend, I saw a yellow disc with "ears" painted on the street--a marking I've never encountered before. I have no idea what it means, but it looked like art to me. Maybe you'll find it, too.

For more unintended art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Art I'm Making: More Collages (November 3, 2013)

I continue to play with paper and paint, producing collages with acrylic-painted paper elements and fragments of monoprints on paper, again using acrylic paint to print with. I particularly like the colors made by Sennelier. In the past 10 days or so I've finished three more small pieces. The monoprint element is strong in these works. Endlessly fascinating. Shown here in the order I made them. The largest is the last one, about 7 inches on the long side.

Photos never capture the subtleties of the printed surfaces, but they're enough to get some idea of what the pieces look like. Clicking on the photos will enlarge them.

Found Art: Metal Box, Sonoma (July 9, 2013)

A metal box on a pole set in the sidewalk along Sonoma Plaza, in the town of Sonoma. Repeatedly painted. Plastered with stickers. Stickers removed. More paint. Found art.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Found Art: Malevich's Circle (January 8, 2012)

If Malevich had used a circle instead of a square, "White on White" might have looked something like this. But no--too much adornment here. Not simple enough. Not pure enough. Still, this San Francisco street detail looked like art to me.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.