Blue Jay # 5 Painting

I am a fan of the American urban landscape on his first visit to the US in 1981. As a student, the ability to sit in a diner for hours, buy a cup of coffee with unlimited refills was so novel, it led him to a lifelong love of diners. Living in New Jersey, he had many opportunities to visit diners and learn more about this unique branch of architecture. Other images that seemed oddly American were the old cars, trucks and boats that sat on properties, and became part of the landscape. Phil hadn't seen this in England. As a painter and film maker, the narrative of images has always been important to Phil. Moments he remembered from his travels across the U.S., like the chess players in Washington Square Park became the subjects for series of paintings and he continues to paint images from his travels.