The assistant manager at Blick, my local art store, took a selfie with me on Monday. I was there to buy canvases for my oil painting trip to Chicago next month for the Democratic National Convention.
Oil paintings of conventions are nothing new. Creating an influencer credential for hundreds of prominent TikTokers and other online stars has never been done before. One such star is sponsoring my oil painting venture: Carlos Eduardo Espina, a Urugayan youth I covered for Latino Rebels in 2022. Espina, now in law school with a focus on migrant rights, has millions of social media followers that hang on his every word.
Huge thanks to Carlos for sponsoring my art trip to the convention. Conceptually I haven’t decided what I’ll produce, but I’m inspired lately by how George Bellows painted New York City.
Bellows was a master painter from Ohio known for urban landscapes, but with an underrated portrait style t hat comes through nicely here—
Of course, Bellows is most famous for his paintings of boxing —
Lose, confident brush strokes give Bellows canvases energy akin to a working class John Singer Sargent, the American master portraitist from the generation before Bellows.
Lose, confident routine is how I’m preparing artistically for the Chicago convention. Painting every day is a must. Lots of experimenting. Here is my latest commission I finished last night of Finn, a friend’s doggo —
Anyway, the assistant manager’s selfie at Blick felt like a big moment in my art journey. Not unlike the time John Stewart thanked me for my reporting, the assistant manager validated my belief in myself as an artist. I now have a month to prepare for the challenge of hyping, then creating meaningful artworks in Chicago.
Chicago is a big opportunity for me to build on my momentum as a political artist, especially in portraits. The convention will be a global news story I will oil paint live on the scene. More to follow.