Ready to party

Valencia Blue, an acrylic painting on 18x24" canvas

Day 158: Valencia Blue

At a stoplight today, I glanced at my keychain dangling from the ignition. Missing from it is my pepper spray, which was confiscated when I served jury duty awhile back. It’s always there so I just didn’t think anything of it, and they let me in with it the first two days. But on the third, the security guard at the scanner apparently thought I looked like the kind of person who might just freak out and spray someone in the face in the midst of civil service.

Behind Door #1- mystery. Behind Door#2- South Indian cuisine!

So now it’s just my lonely electric blue bottle opener, looking worn from the paint rubbing away all these years. I wondered what someone who didn’t know me might think judging from my keychains alone. There are no prom photos or tiny stuffed animals, no jetsetter badges from vacation destinations- just the basics: car key, house key and bottle opener. Because you never know when a spontaneous beer party will bust out, and what if no one remembers that lighter trick? I had to smile because I can’t even remember the last time I used it.

The Mission district in San Francisco is that kind of place, though. It’s the type of neighborhood where you’re always running into someone you know who just so happens to be throwing a bring-your-own-bottle-opener type of bash.

News stands sentinel for the organic salad bar

I’m finally done with this painting, which I’m calling “Valencia Blue” as it features a scene from Valencia St. in the mission. Specifically, DOSA restaurant and Valencia Whole Foods are shown on this corner. Now, it took me a few days to finish, and I didn’t want to disappoint with no daily piece for today. So here’s a short poem I wrote to go with it. 🙂

The Mission

is like a party you get invited to in college where you don’t know anyone but you have a good feeling about tonight so you bring a bag of oranges and a bottle opener and hope for the best

P.S. I’ll be showing this painting and some other cityscapes at City Art Gallery on 828 Valencia St. (just a block or two from this spot) in July. See you there!