20 Van Paintings by Kevin Cyr, An Artist Who's Driven.

Artist Kevin Cyr's series of twenty vans based on Vandura, Chevy, and Econoline Chateau vans documented in Brooklyn, New York. Each of the 20 profile images below are created with oils and silkscreen on panels.






















He has also created die cast miniatures of vans, complete with graffiti and vandalism, as well as other series of vehicle paintings and drawings.

The Artist's Statement:

In a culture in which people are easily lured by the appeal of status-enhancing symbols, I find beauty in derelict cars and unkempt landscapes. I have always been interested in painting vehicles and scenes that have defined the evolution of the American landscape.

I commemorate commercial vehicles inundated with graffiti and rust, working vehicles, and well-traveled recreational vehicles. I find that there is so much character in old delivery trucks and vans — especially when covered with graffiti — and in the old RVs parked off a main road. Removing them from their everyday context gives them portrait-like importance. I paint with devoted attention to every imperfection and sign of age.

Painting and drawing these objects gives me a chance to document a time and place, and to make still a part of the ever-changing environment.

You can purchase some of these here.

Kevin Cyr
Brooklyn, New York
talk / + 1 617 953 5734
type / kevin@kevincyr.net

Freeways & Overpasses: An Artist's Muse, Part II

Above: Ben Aronson's Closed Ramp, Westside Highway

There has been such an ongoing interest in a post I did months ago, called "Freeways & Overpasses; An Artist's Muse"  that it's time for Freeways & Overpasses; Part II.

Clearly this subject matter continues to inspire artists all over the world, regardless of style, medium, or execution. I could seriously dedicate a blog to this subject alone, but for now, this second series will have to suffice.

By the way, these posts are my personal favorite posts to write and compile, but they take weeks, even months ... so I cannot do them as frequently as I'd like.

The following pieces are all beautiful and timeless. Both serving as a record of human technology, evolution and transportation as well as contemporary landscapes. The following works are glimpses of the world as it stands today, with freeways as 'escape routes' and overpasses as 'architecture'.

Because the last post was so well-received I have tried to include as many as I could find- within reason of course, in this one. Some of the following paintings are available, some are not, but all are worth admiring.

In the photorealism style:

The Paintings of Danny Heller:

Above: "Suburbia Freeway #1" by Danny Heller

Above: Danny Heller's "Suburbia Freeway #2"

above: Danny Heller's "Nightscape #1"

The Work of Patricia Chidlaw:

Above: Patricia Chidlaw's "Westbound Freight"

And her "Railroad Bridge"

and her "Overpass"

The Work of Anna Conti:

Above: Anna Conti's "Steel Forest"

Above: Anna Conti's "Metamorphosis"

The work of Stephen Dolmatch:

Above: "Evening Westside Highway"

Above: "Tilted Swirl"

Above: Unknown title, Stephen Dolmatch

Stephen Hicks' work:

Above: Stephen Hicks' "16th and 10th ave".

above, Hicks' "Prospect & Washington"


Above: Eileen David's "Lefty #9"


Above: Peter Nye's "280 Overpass" (sold)


Above: Tom Birkner's "Under The Bridge"


Above: Bill Mosely's "SR-125" (for sale)


Above: Nicholas Evans Cato's "Tiger Stripe"


Above: Thomas Germano's "Underbelly"

Looser and more painterly interpretations, but equally as fabulous:

The work of William Wray:
Above: William Wray's "134"

And his "LA "

The work of David Shevlino:

Above: David Shevlino's "Exit"

above: Shevlino's "Evening headlights"

and his "Onramp"

The work of Tom Brown:



Above: Tom Brown's Freeway paintings from daily painters

Stephen Coyle's Work:

Above: Coyle's Big Dig Beginning

Above: his Rearview Nightmare

Above: Coyle's March 3rd


Above: "Onramp" by Nathan Bond


Above: George Nick's Route 93 and VW van


above: Chris Greco


Above: Eileen David's Under The FDR


Above: David Wells Roth's "Route 80"

Above: David Wells Roth's Overpass


and his "Under Mass Ave"


Above: Doug Braithwaite's "Wall Avenue"


And Doug Braithwaite's "Hunter Gatherers"


Above: unknown title, by Jon Rader Jarvis


Above: Scott Yeskel's LA #8

Above: Scott Yeskel's Los Angeles, 2002


Above: Craig Stephen's "Freeway Palm"


Above: Stephen Magsig's Shadows, from his fabulous Postcards from Detroit series

Below are more graphic representations:

by Elizabeth O'Reilly :

Above: Elizabeth O'Reilly's Afternoon Light

and her Expressway At Night

Above: Gowanus Expressway By Night

and Ron Milewicz:

Above: Citiwide Morning by Ron Milewicz

Above: his Woodside Station


Above: Sharilyn Neidhardt's Sunset Bridge

By the way, several of these painters are represented by (and their works are available from) the following galleries:
The George Billis Galleries.
The Chelsea Art Galleries
DFN Gallery
The Paul Theibaud galleries
online at The Daily Painters Gallery

I'm sure I have inadvertently omitted hundreds of other freeway and overpass paintings. So, maybe there will be a part III!
Enjoy.