Each of the paintings is a landscape interior or exterior depending whether map or bloom, while at the same time each is also a live graph of emotion, a demonstration of a place in the mind, an EKG of a memory. Blooms and stems, lines and bubbles, sweeping curves or a coastline, the pieces are thoughtful and thought provoking.

Jonathan Parker has no idea why he paints African American portraits and he doesn’t know who these people are. “I start with a photograph but that is just for the shape of the head,” he tries to explain. He then paints from somewhere inside his head, focused but not controlled. And these portraits emerge.

There was something about the 4 x 12 paintings I saw on the wall during the May show at City Arts Cooperative Gallery on Valencia Street in San Francisco. They were side by side along the wall, an entire row of them, like a row of fortress windows. Something drew me to the paintings…..

During the Obama campaign, three things happened. First, the Obama campaign gave explicit approval for posters by “Artists for Obama.” This includes not just Shepard Fairey but also a strong list of top artists. Secondly, Shepard Fairey rose from wanted street artist to the National Portrait Gallery partly because of Obama but mostly because he is an artistic rock star who gives back.

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