La Michoacana Ice Cream Shop Painting

La Michoacana Ice Cream Shop: 24” x 30” x 1.5” Oil on Belgian Linen Canvas On a crisp COVID19 Halloween/Dia de Los Muertos kind of night I was walking through my new neighborhood with a friend thinking we might see some yard decorations. After observing a few altars and sugar skulls, we turned the corner onto Blue Island Ave, and there was La Michoacana Ice Cream shop, brilliantly lit, old model custom cars pulling up with Latin music playing out loud, people were socializing in the distant kind of way. I felt a sudden rush of excitement and since I can’t eat ice cream, I figured just taking a photo would be the best way to remember the moment. Weeks later, I remembered the photo and decided to print it out. The image was still so striking to me, the angles, the lights, the ambiance. I wanted to paint it. This was part of my new home after all. This experience, short as it may have been, gave me a sense of place in a new and mostly unfamiliar environment. That night, I felt as though we stumbled onto a moment of beauty and culture. This painting is my best attempt at sharing it.