NY Street Artist Paints to Entertain

There are all different kinds of art and I am always amazed by the creativity it takes to create something (whether it’s sculpture, a painting, blown glass, etc.) out of nothing. To choose materials and work with them to produce something where before was nothing takes imagination as well as skill with the media in question that I marvel at.

Then there’s art that “upcycles” or, in some way, begins with something that’s already there, but reinterprets or adds to it so that it is transformed.  This kind of art is the subject of this month’s “Random Cool Thing” post.  An artist is taking existing pieces of New York City’s gritty landscape and, with some paint, changing what we see when we look at it.  I love the idea of taking =ugly cityscapes and turning them into smile-producing mini-vistas. This artist is both skilled enough with his paintbrush to convey his vision AND possessed of a playful enough imagination to be able to see how the disparate elements he incorporates can be completely changed with some paint and a new perspective. Check out these before and after pictures of his work.