In the wringer: Little Neck Bay
(“Train view: Little Neck Bay,” by carolita johnson. Click on the image for a larger version.)
When I was a college student, I used to commute every day from Little Neck to Manhattan. Besides the Great Neck passengers making fun of my Japanese designer outfits, the thing that bleakened my spirits the most was realizing how many hours I spent commuting. So, to make the trip seem worth it of itself (rather than just as a means to an end) I decided to look at the bay, very carefully every day as we passed it between Douglaston and Bayside, and force myself to notice and name the colors to myself in an exercise of appreciation and mental imaging.
This is my first painting of the view from the train window. Not done yet, but nearly.
February 7th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
I’m really getting a hint of early Avery here. Very nice. It took getting a BFA in painting to convince myself I couldn’t paint. Of course I’m going on my sixth year of N.Y.’er cartooning yet convinced I can’t draw… you do both quite well.
February 8th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I was told I couldn’t paint, and that I would perhaps do better to take fashion design! So, I did, because I didn’t care to let anyone tell me how to draw or paint, and design seemed so meaningless that I could coast through it without feeling a thing.
No need to be convinced by any conclusions you draw by virtue of your BFA! We draw how we draw, and we paint how we paint, is how I see it. One’s style is defined by a certain inability to perfectly conform, I was taught in later years (in my literary studies).
February 9th, 2007 at 5:44 am
I think it is beautiful- both the picture and how you made something positive out of your dreary commute.
February 9th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Thanks, Robin! I’ve actually become quite nostalgic about that view, in spite of the dreary commute!
February 14th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Nice! And Munch-ian to me….
February 19th, 2007 at 3:26 am
Greetings from LA!! Nice painting!! It’s exaclty what I remember—looking at the water after getting on the train at Douglaston. A perfect rendition the water behind PS98.
xo
JB