2020 is here… and so is my first signed painting — the ‘White Horse Tavern’. For those of you with literary passion… the ghost of Dylan Thomas lives here.
And, in case you haven’t heard — the White Horse is now owned by Eytan Sugarman — a gentleman I’ve come to know since beginning this piece. I’m looking forward to kicking-it with Eytan at this iconic NYC institution, drink in hand.
Care to join me on a time lapse journey? Here’s sending lots of love to MH the Verb for the 🔥 soundtrack. Call me biased, but I’m partial to those with a ‘Borbay in their hallway’ — I also enjoy imported bottles of vodka from Norway.
As they often do… this piece began with an outline, and under-painting and a dream… a dream of neon.
This composition was swiftly established, as the first layer of shadows instantly identified the critical elements of the picture plane.
There is something deeply satisfying about that first run of tubes… the colors always evolve in concert with the whole composition… never-the-less, they provide an instant sense of ‘oh, there it is’.
As with all paintings, it’s important to view the work in different light as you create. This was taken out back of Borbay studios… where there is now three feet of snow.
A curious fact about this work — it began in the summer… and was pushed back in the queue for three, extremely special commissions.
I digress — I’ve taken to working with several palettes at once. Here, I was hammering away on the gradient of the building in the background, the neon tubes, and surrounding letters.
Moving away from the pink/red palette, to a more fiery yellow to red to deep purple… the letters have taken on a glow.
As the background comes into form, the tubes begin to receive the treatment… which consist of three shades of yellow-to-white.
Detailing the metal on the sides of the sign? One of the great pleasures of painting. These subtle details provide the viewer with some excitement, after experiencing the immediate draw of the tubes.
As I looked and looked, I realized the blues need a punch-up… so I brightened them up. It’s odd… often, adding brighter colors to the background will provide depth. This can feel counter intuitive, but the results are real.
And boom! The White Horse Tavern… walls slatted, neons popping, blues dancing… here’s a shout to one of my favorite NYC joints. I’ll be seeing you soon…
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