Cityscapes
I'm not sure if "cityscapes" exist as a category in art. If not, maybe I've just invented a new category. For the purpose of this cyber-exhibit of my work, I'm going to define cityscapes as landscapes done in the city: paintings that have buildings in them instead of the standard trees and fields you see in most landscapes. Buildings can be beautiful too. And buildings that may not be beautiful in real life can be made beautiful in a work of art. As an example, see the painting below of the NIPSCO plant.
For more on how the NIPSCO plant and several other cityscapes got painted, see my article on City Beaches.
NIPSCO PLANT: Acrylic on canvas. 3 feet by 2 feet. Unframed; wraparound canvas with art (including artist's signature) continuing around the edge. This was the signature piece for my City Beaches exhibit in Michigan City's City Hall in January 1999. I had driven past the NIPSCO plant on the lakefront in Michigan City for years and years without giving it much note, or wanting to immortalize it on canvas. Then one day, something clicked in my mind. "That would make an interesting painting," I thought. So I positioned myself on the dock by the Yacht Club across from the NIPSCO complex one day and began sketching. The result is below. This is not an exact reproduction of what you would see if you visited the same spot. Does art have to be a slavish imitation of reality? I reconfigured some of the buildings for compositional effect. $1,000
COAL ELEVATOR: Acrylic on canvas. 3 feet by 2 feet. Unframed; wraparound canvas with art (including artist's signature) continuing around the edge. If you've ever driven on US 12 coming into Michigan City, you might recognize this scene. Several miles east of town is the coal elevator shown here. It once was used to refuel railroad trains on the main line between Chicago and Detroit. Railroads no longer use coal, and the elevator remains a concrete blob that some local people feel should be torn down as an eyesore. I'm not among them. I feel that the coal elevatort stands as a symbol, although I'm not sure what that symbol is. I simplified this cityscape to a few basics: the elevator, the NIPSCO cooling tower in the far background and a sun glaring at both. So simple, yet this kind of painting is much more difficult to do than you would think. $500
GARY LAPORTE: Acrylic on canvas. 3 feet by 4 feet. Unframed; wraparound canvas with art (including artist's signature) continuing around the edge. This painting also appeared in the City Beaches exhibit. In fact, it was the final one I painted for that 1999 exhibit in Michigan City's City Hall. Again, this is a familiar scene for those driving on US 12 into Michigan City from the east. You see this cacophony of signs with the NIPSCO cooling tower in the background just as you crest the bridge coming into town. This painting currently resides in a private collection, and I'm not sure the owner wants to part with it. I show it because I'm proud of this work. I'm tempted to return to this urban scene; I don't think I've exhausted all its possibilities. PRIVATE COLLECTION