At Work by Jonathan Laidacker

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At first we thought the boy was studying. Sitting on a stool with a spiral notebook in his hand he seemed to be focused on the page. Until we noticed the small paint can in his hand and the thin stream of color pouring down onto the page. The pouring theme is repeated across the mural in the background. More images of the boy – still pouring paint down on his notebook – repeat with more and more posterizing of the image and the background. It’s an interesting effect.

The Sprout Fund’s Public Art Program director sent us this:

The West End Community group was inspired by the easel paintings of artist Jonathan Laidacker when he created this Trompe L’oeil (trick of the eye) piece. Incorporating the drip technique he uses in his easel paintings, Laidacker used sheets of plastic to direct the drippings and capture the frame within a frame effect of this optical illusion. Used to working with water colors and acrylics, Laidacker was challenged even further by having to recreate a tested technique with totally foreign materials on a surface that was far less cooperative than his studio canvases. At Work is a good example of how an artist’s studio style can persevere within the process of the Sprout Public Art program.