After working on paintings with a lot of figures in them, working on The Photographer’s single figure is refreshing. I don’t actually know the woman in this painting, which is based on one of many photos I took at a local fair. Anyway, she struck me as a tough customer; all business, if you know what I mean.
Woman on E. 10th St. is based on a photo of a woman who was kind enough to pose for me during my last visit to Manhattan. I took photographs of my old East Village neighborhood, the area around Tompkins Square Park. One of my favorite hangouts, Life Cafe, which was on the corner of 10th and Ave. B is gone, replaced by another cafe. I used to eat at Lyscho’s on the corner of 7th and Ave. A, where Yuca’s is now. The food was cheap and plentiful. I refer to my old neighborhood the ‘East Village’ but many New Yorkers call it ‘Alphabet City.’ Alphabet City is the neighborhood starting at Ave. A and running east that encompasses avenues B, C, D. Beyond Ave. D is the East River.
