Urban Project 10

Urban Project 10

35 x 25 cm

Watercolor on paper

I have been fascinated by storefronts ever since I set my tiny baby eyes on one. The text fonts and graphic signs, the products, the colors, the characters, logos, language, culture and so on. I want to call store fronts a portraiture of someones product. I may not always want the product, but the storefront sets a precedence for me to be interested in it. It's kind of like falling in love at first glance, but keeping the mystery present by crafting it into an art work. 

This one was created after I came back from a hike up to see the big Buddha up in Ngong Ping, located in Hong Kong. I went on a random two hour hike when the weather was nice. (This was possible because I was unemployed at that point.) I didn't expect the hike to be so vertically challenging, but after a fair amount of grit and effort I made it to my destination. I was wondering around taking photos, and then I came across this bright little gem of a store. It was like looking at a McDonald's, but it was not American! I actually grew up in Hong Kong so the logo that is spread across the roof of the store is actually a very popular local brand of soy milk. 'Vitasoy' pronounced "Wai Ta Lai" with a down to upwards intonation on "Lai". When I saw this store I immediately took a picture of it and then went to work. I wished I could have used a bolder and brighter medium to really bolster up it's color hues, but I didn't have the knowledge or practice back then. I'm still quite happy with this piece.