I went to see the Frank Romero show at MOLAA (Museum of Latin American Art ) in Los Angles. He is a famous Chicano artist who paints mostly of Southern California and in really bright colors. One of his paintings I fell in love with is called Cheech’s Downtown. Cheech Marin is the largest collector of Frank Romero’s work.
To better understand his technique and use of colors and composition, I decided to try and copy Cheech’s Downtown. He uses acrylic paint and paints very quickly. I learned a lot from the process. I used heavy cement and glass beads mixed into the acrylic to give it texture and reflective properties. I do not think the original used these but I know Frank Romero experimented with gels and molding paste textures which he added into the paint in other pieces.
See below for photos of Frank Romero’s original and my final attempt hanging on my wall. My cat also helped.
