original painting by Brooke Harker, 2012
The titles “Angel City 1” & “Angel City 2” has a couple of meanings. Most obviously, I
live in Los Angeles the “City of Angels,” and the images in these paintings come
from the Jewelry District of Downtown Los Angeles, where I spent an afternoon
sketching these scenes live. Secondly, while making the second sketch, I met a
4-year-old boy named Angel. His mother sold roses on the nearby corner. I had set
outside of Pizza Italia where the owner so kindly let me sketch from the outdoor
seating area. Angel and his older sister watched me draw over my shoulder and
eventually Angel pulled up and stood on a chair so that his height matched
mine. He repeated the same question over and over, “Are you gonna put Carl’s Jr.
in it?” Carl’s Jr. was in the frame. Not being a fan of fast food, I would have been
tempted to ignore that it was Carl’s Jr since it could have been any building. But to
ease Angel’s concern I added a little star to the drawing…”Yes, Carl’s Jr. is right there.”
From a nearby table two businessmen watched the scene and laughed. I then set
up a station for Angel and his sister to paint and draw next to me with watercolor
pencils and paints as I usually have extra supplies with me. Angel’s sister whom I
think was named Joanna, kindly cleaned up the paints after Angel mixed all of the
colors together. Tthat is what four year olds do though, so it wasn’t a surprise. The
presence of these kids brightened my already enjoyable day. I couldn’t have
planned a better addition to my drawing experience. Although I did not get a photo
with the kids, the two business men that watched the meeting laughing sent me
a photo via Facebook later.
Brooke Harker
