Discarded

As I mentioned before, my square coffee and bike paintings were feeling flat and Jennie hit it on the head saying they were too illustrative by having the word "bike" with a bike. She also mentioned the sketch of the ransacked bike being a more interesting subject. I enjoyed how she worded it,

There's a sadness and irony in it, and it's an observation of something we see every day, and don't think about much. By drawing it, you make me think about how sad it is, how funny it is that it's still 'secure' and it's also a reminder of human ingenuity - someone was mischievous enough to recognize the opportunity someone left them. In a funny way, it's a portrait of urban life.

I suppose that was what I was thinking, in not so many words, when I took the original photograph. I've always been attracted to images of urban blight for some reason. I'm not really sure how to put it all into words but there is something interesting there. I have a couple photos I've taken over the years of old bikes. It might nice to make a series about them. Maybe juxtapose an old bike with wording you'd find in an advertisement for a new one. hmmm...
And it fits into my growing collection of discarded items. I'm thinking I might also want to do a series with old pay phones. I always feel a little sad when I see one and it reminds me of how quickly technology changes and the new makes the old obsolete.

And some what related but not really... I like to take photos of dead birds. I took this one today. It may seem a little morbid but I see it as a reminder of how precious life and nature are. I've painted "live" birds before, what if I were to paint a dead one?