Observation of Nature
Painting Nostalgia
by Stefan Baumann
Icons of past eras such as Jiffy Pop popcorn pans and
Drive-In movie lots have disappeared from our collective
experience to be replaced with microwave bags and strip
malls. Dying images of yesterday’s America fade
before we realize that they are gone from our view. We
look back in lament of their fading presence in our lives,
wishing we would have captured them upon canvas.
As an American artist, I see myself not only a painter
of beautiful scenery, but also an observer of our time.
I witness the elusive icons of my boyhood, open spaces
and architecture, as they secretly disappear from my daily
landscape. It is important for artists to capture our
human environment before the homogeneous creations of
urban sprawl change them forever.
I’ve passed by this Drive-In every day for the
last 10 years…It was such a fixture in the community,
I assumed it would remain forever. Then one day I noticed
that the tired and weathered screen had begun to peel
away from its frame. I knew in that moment that it would
soon disappear because of soaring real estate prices.
On a Spring evening in 2001, I ultimately took the time
to paint it on location. I’m thankful I did, because
two weeks later the land was cleared to make room for
an Industrial Parkway and the icon and it’s history
slipped from the landscape, but was captured forever upon
canvas.
