In 2020 I’ve made ink and watercolor paintings of birds, flowers and landscapes from my Jackson Heights, Queens neighborhood. Some are derived from classical Chinese paintings. Just before we went into quarantine in early March, I brought home an amaryllis and painted its bloom and decay. It seemed appropriate for this period of the pandemic. By early April I was taking long daily socially distanced walks in the neighborhood which is rich in brick buildings and flowers. In June the iris' were enticing and In July the hydrangea especially glorious.
Flowers and scenes from the neighborhood.
ink&watercol on xuan paper 13"x18" Jan-2020
ink on xuan paper 9.5"x11.5" Jan-2020
ink&watercolor-on xuan paper 9.5"x14" Jan-2020
ink&watercolor on xuan paper 13"x18" Jan-2020
ink&watercolor on xuan paper 25"x11.5" Jan-2020
ink&watercolor on xuan paper 15.5"x14.75" Mar-2020
ink&watercolor on xuan paper 18.5"x14.75" Mar-2020
ink&watercolor on xuan paper 13.5"x10.75" Mar-2020
ink&watercolor on xuan paper 11.75"x15.75" Mar-2020
ink on xuan paper 17.5"x27" Mar-2020
Ink on xuan paper, 12’x16.5” Jun-2020
Ink & watercolor on xuan pape, 16.5"x26" Jun_2020
Ink & watercolor on xuan paper, 26”x38” Jun-2020
Ink & watercolor on xuan paper, 17”x22” Jun-2020
charcoal on paper 15"x11" May-2020
ink&watercolor on xuen paper 5.25"x7.75" May-2020
ink&watercolor on xuen paper 19.75"x13.5" Mar-2020
ink & watercolor on xuan paper, 9"x10", Jul-2020
Ink & watercolor on xuan paper, 14"x21.5", Jul-2020
I designed and created the images in my Tribeca studio in 1980 where I restored the piece 33 years later. In 2015 I moved to my current studio in Queens where, with Katy Martin Studio, I made a limited edition print portfolio of the Masstransiscope images.
Bill Brand’s Masstransiscope is a public artwork that consists of a 300 foot long painting made on reflective material and installed in the tunnel in the NYC subway. It is in a special enclosure with 228 narrow slits on the front side near the train and the painting on the far side. To someone who's passing by, it looks like an animated movie.
TriBeCa studio. Bill sketched ideas on paper scrolls that he viewed in the working model.
Viewed through a moving band of slits, the scroll sketches appear as an animation.
Painter Theresa DeSalvio tests brush techniques with the transparent ink used to paint Masstransiscope. 1980.
MTA removed the 57 panels from the subway tunnel and delivered them to Bill’s studio where he meticulously cleaned and restored them.
Bill paints replacement panel.
Matching colors.
Preparing for print edition.
Bill views maquette in motion in Queens studio. (still from Museum of the City of New York video.)
57 prints for each portfolio. 11” x 17” archival inkjet on cotton rag paper. 2016.
25 of 53 inkjet prints from limited edition portfolio on cotton rag paper, 11” x 17”, 2016.
11”x17” archival inkjet on cotton rage paper, 2016.
11”x17” archival inkjet on cotton rage paper, 2016.
11”x17” archival inkjet on cotton rage paper, 2016.
11”x17” archival inkjet on cotton rage paper, 2016.
11”x17” archival inkjet on cotton rage paper, 2016.
11”x17” archival inkjet on cotton rage paper, 2016.
11”x17” archival inkjet on cotton rage paper, 2016.
Press “play” to see Masstransiscope images animated.
