The car has just seen someone.
You can tell because the headlights have gone to hearts. A lowrider, drawn in one fat wobbly black brush-line, sitting there in front of a wall while the colour behind it goes off like a firework – sunset orange, turquoise, purple, hot pink, overspray hanging in the air, drips running where they want to run.
Read the hood
The words are painted onto the hood itself: TE QUIERO. Not floating over the picture like a caption. Brushed onto the metal, tilted with the curve of the hood, so it reads the way real lettering reads on a real car. Get close and you can see the bristle marks in the letters, the places the brush ran dry. Somebody in this picture wrote that by hand, on purpose, on their own car.
That is Chris Vega’s whole move. One character, drawn once with a heavy brush. Colour sprayed in behind it. One phrase, lettered, and then he stops. Nothing else is written anywhere. Valentina put it well: he “captures the essence of LA Chicano street culture with vibrant colors and heartfelt humor.”
Where it ends up
Bars. Kitchens. Game rooms. Behind a pool table it is unbeatable. It is a joke and a love note at the same time, which is why it works for the guy who has everything – he already says te quiero, he just never had it in four colours on his wall.
Getting it up there
Canvas, matte, an inch and a quarter deep, stretched on solid wood and ready to hang out of the box. One nail. No frame to buy, no glass to fight with, and matte means a lamp or a window opposite gives you the drips back instead of a glare. The image wraps the sides, so it looks finished from across the room.
The 20×16 (51 x 41 cm) landscape is preselected and suits most walls, $149. Go 24×18 over a bar or a couch. The small 14×11 fits a tight kitchen wall. Made to order, up to ten business days, free shipping in the continental US – and nobody else on your street will have this one. It is a high quality print of a digital artwork.
One honest thing
It is loud. Really loud. If your rooms are all soft greys and you like quiet walls, this will pick a fight with them and win.
If that made you grin, take it home. If not today, go see the rest of what Chris has painted – or follow him and you will catch the next one before anybody else does.
