Stumbled across this new artsy tidbit and I must say, I kinda love it.
Perhaps you’re wondering why there’s a picture of a man smiling jovially as he does his gardening on your screen. Washington DC artist, Nicole Bourgea is an expressionist painter known for her life-sized portraits which are usually sold at $4000 a pop. As a little act of community service (or self-promotion, cynics might say), she painted 10 oil paintings of random everyday people and placed them in the same location that she met them, accompanied by a note reading “If this is you, this painting is yours to take”.
Bourgea hopes that the subject will walk by before it gets stolen but as appealing as a free painting is, I’d find it a little creepy hanging up some random store clark, street surveyor or croissant-eater in the middle of my living room. It would probably also clash with my decor. She will be documenting the project on her blog, I Hate to Alarm You, if you wish to read more about it.
via PSFK
Whether it is self-promotion or a good deed, it doesn’t matter to me beacause this is so beautiful and inspiring! I couldn’t imagine the emotions I would feel finding a painting of myself. Just Beautiful! Thank you for sharing this!
Agreed, loved it once I saw it. We’ve had enough of the ‘famous’ paintings, I think it’s awesome that she did them of ordinary people. A really nice surprise to walk past indeed!