KERBEY LANE CENTRAL is a nod to the iconic venue that hosted my most recent solo show. I had the privilege to hang 30+ pieces at Kerbey Lane on Kerbey Lane, which has been a destination for diner lovers across the country for decades. In fact, when I first moved to Austin more than 30 years ago, I lived on Kerbey Lane just 3 blocks down from the restaurant. Many a hangover was remedied by their coffee, pancakes and queso.
Back in the day, the Kerbey Lane sign was a 3D coffee cup – today it’s still a cofffee cup but just flat and a little less intriguing. I’m not sure what happened to the original sign, but I found an old photo as a reference to recreate it as the focal point in this piece.
I used a palette knife to do the sign, adding texture and more detail, whereas the rest of the painting is brushwork. For those of you who haven’t had the fortune to visit this location, it’s inside an old house, actually two houses that are connected. The other businesses along this street are also converted homes, so that’s why the backdrop looks like a neighborhood… cuz it is.
For the compositional geeks out there, I used the angles of the metal sign post, the walkway, and the roof lines to direct the viewer to the focal point. While the slightly aerial viewing angle is clearly not something you’d get standing in front of the restaurant, it was infinitely more interesting than anything I managed to come up with at street level.
Thanks again Kerbey Lane for hosting me and my wide ranging artistic subjects! I look forward to another show in the near future.
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Art Bern 