Lost Art #18: El-Zomor Canal, Ard-el-Lewa

It's a very difficult day for me today, as tonight we'll be leaving Cairo. It's hard to believe we've already arrived at the end of our three-month residency here. We have made so many friends and so many memories that we will cherish for years to come. I wanted to mark our last week here by leaving a Lost Art painting on the bridge that we walk across each morning and evening when we move in and out of our neighborhood of Ard-el-Lewa. On the other side of this bridge are the official, recognized districts of Cairo. But here on our side of the bridge is the place we have called home. And here is where the people have taken us in and treated us like family. So here is where I hope someone finds my last Cairo painting and takes it as a gesture of thanks for the very warm welcome that we received in in this neighborhood. It is something that I will always remember!

This painting, oil on found wood, roughly 41 cm x 37.5 cm, was left on the bridge overlooking the El-Zomor Canal in  Ard-el-Lewa, Giza on November 30th, 2014 at 3:30 PM.

If you have found this piece, please let me know in the comments!

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Lost Art #17: Gameat Al Dewal Al Arabeya

Hello again everyone! I've been back out on the streets of Cairo!

This one was interesting to paint. I was out on Gameat Al Dewal at rush hour, toward the end of the day. Gameat Al Dewal is always a very busy street, but at that time it's even more so. I had people crowding around me almost immediately, and at one point there were so many kids pushing in and asking questions that I had to stop working on the painting. So it came out a little bit loose. But then I decided that I kinda liked it that way. So rather than go back and work on it more, I thought it would be more fun to let it reflect the rushed and busy atmosphere of the place where I painted it. Even if it was a little bit difficult to work with so many people around, it's also really exhilarating to leave a painting in a place where people are so excited and curious about it. I hope I get the chance to hear from the person who found it! Now I am going to take a few days off from this project to focus on preparing for our big residency show at Artellewa on the 18th. If you're in Cairo, please feel free to message me for more details about that. And stay tuned for more Lost Art the following week! 

This painting, oil on found wood, roughly 34 cm x 37 cm, was left on Gameat Al Dewal Al Arabeya, in Cairo, on November 13th, 2014 at 8:30 AM.

If you have found this piece, please let me know in the comments!

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Lost Art #16: Midan Bab-el-Louq, Cairo

There's more Lost Art on the streets of Cairo this week! Unfortunately we've been offline for several days, so I didn't get a chance to post this until now. But I'm excited to have finally left a painting on the Midan Bab-el-Louq, which is a place where we have spent a lot of our time in Cairo. I had a very interesting time painting this one. There were lots of curious people who approached me to ask questions, but I didn't have an interpreter with me, so most of it I didn't understand. There was a nice painting teacher from a local art school who hung out with us for a while and did some translating. He was even nice enough to send a message in to the blog and say hello! I hope that maybe he, or one of the other nice people I met in this neighborhood, finds and enjoys the painting. At the very least, I hope that is not found and enjoyed by the creepy guy who works at the public toilet who tried to kiss me when I was getting up to leave. (You know who you are, creepy guy. If you found this painting, please don't enjoy it ;) ). But anyone else who finds it is more than welcome to do with it whatever they wish. And as always, please leave a comment and let me know if you found it!  Now I'm off to scout new locations for my next few Cairo paintings. Still a month to go here! If you're in Cairo and want to suggest a neighborhood for me to paint in, please feel free to let me know in the comments. See you in the streets! 

This painting, oil on found wood, roughly 32.5 cm x 70 cm, was left at Midan Bab-el-Louq, Cairo on October 29th, 2014 at 2:30pm.

If you have found this piece, please let me know in the comments!

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Lost Art #15: Al-Azhar Park, Cairo

Hello again everyone!

I know it's been a longer wait than usual. This past week, I conducted a live Q&A about 'plein air' street painting at the Artellewa Art Space. If you missed it, you can find some photos here. But now I'm back in my rhythm and I've finally left my next Lost Art painting out in the world to be found! This one is in Al-Azhar Park in Cairo. It's the second painting I've left in Cairo and the 15th overall. The day I painted it was the last day of the Eid festivities, so the park was completely full of people. Many of them stopped to watch, talk, and ask questions. Hopefully one of those nice, curious people will find this one today and take it home! 

This painting, oil on found wood, roughly 47 cm x 41 cm, was left in Al-Azhar Park, Cairo on October 11th, 2014 at 6pm.

If you have found this piece, please let me know in the comments!

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Lost Art #14: Tahrir Square, Cairo

Hello everyone! 

Sorry for the delay while I was getting my bearings in Egypt, but I'm back! I have finally left my first Lost Art painting in Cairo, and what better place to start than Tahrir Square? I was warned multiple times not to come here on my own as a woman, and not to attract attention to myself in the square, but I finally decided (with the help of some friends) to make a plan to come over here very early on a Friday morning (when there's almost nobody downtown) and try my best to find myself a tranquil view of the place. As it turns out, hardly anyone noticed me except for Mai Mahmoud, a journalist from AlMasry AlYoum who filmed this short interview with me while I was painting it! :). It was a lovely, peaceful morning, and the light fell gently for me on the park and on the Egyptian Museum. And now that I know my way around a little better, I look forward to losing a lot more art in this town over the weeks to come!

This painting, oil on found wood, roughly 48 cm x 37 cm, was left on Tahrir Square, Cairo on September 26th, 2014 at 4pm.

If you have found this piece, please let me know in the comments!

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