“The Bounceback”
2024 Paintings of people in San Francisco
(sixteen paintings showing at ARC GALLERY as part of FOURSQUARED: August/September 2024
“The city feels like it’s bouncing back, or becoming whatever is next. It’s like waking up in a new city every day, and that makes me want to paint everything!” Mark D. Powers
“Crossing Market at Hyde” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
On a wet day in November, they walked from South of Market…
“There’s nothing quite like a walk in San Francisco just after the rain. Dull things are scrubbed brightly clean, and people tend to rush less.” Mark D. Powers
“Lunch at Thanh Thanh in the Richmond” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“One of the best changes I’ve noticed is that people are eating outside more. It’s very cool. I’d want to live here if I didn’t live here.” Mark D. Powers
“Ocean Beach Sunset Family” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
Capturing a mood…
“Watching the sun go down at the edge of the continent: there’s something so calming about a beach sunset, yet no matter how many photos we take, it’s difficult to really capture that feeling. This painting is my attempt at staring into the sun to communicate that mood.” Mark D. Powers
“Vacationing Family Walking on Stockton” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“I’m often on bustling Stockton Street and it’s like another city entirely. This part of Chinatown is typically abuzz with deliveries, locals shopping for everything under the sun (like Peking duck hanging in storefronts), and the occasional tourist family passing through after wandering away from touristy Grant Street.” Mark D. Powers
“Crossing 9th Ave with a Baby” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“I lived in the Inner Sunset briefly and fell in love with this unique part of the city, with its train-commuter population, pubs like the Mucky Duck, and its Golden Gate Park adjacency.”
“Waiting for a Ride at Yunyi Beauty” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“I randomly and blindly snap pictures from the passenger seat as we drive around the city. Later, I’ll go through and see things that already look like paintings. It’s my challenge then to paint the scene, focusing the viewer’s eye on what I want to show. There’s always more to paint, but I try to show at least a little restraint (I’m still learning) so that the viewer doesn’t become overwhelmed trying to see everything.” Mark D. Powers
“Early Morning on Grant” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“If you take a walk through Chinatown before business hours you can see the bones of the place. One notices how transitional the neighborhood is, with many people driving or walking through on their way downtown from the rest of the city and beyond. During business hours there are people everywhere and you can’t really see beyond ten feet, so everything you focus on is very close.” Mark D. Powers
“Walking The Dog at 39th Ave and Geary” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
It’s just a typical September afternoon, on a typical street in the Outer Richmond.
“The light in California is insistent and hard in many ways. For someone rolling around San Francisco with a painter’s eye, it’s like an unfolding canvas of magical eye candy, where even a simple crosswalk defines the sense of place.” Mark D. Powers
“Crossing at Tommy’s Joint on Van Ness” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
They were both looking for dates as they crossed paths unknowingly…
“I love scenes where people are crossing paths, so it was a natural choice to paint these two on their phones as they walked down Van Ness Avenue. Plus, I’d always wanted to paint Tommy’s but thought it would look too basic to just paint all of that signage. Then I noticed the light bouncing onto Tommy’s from the building across the street and thought it was pretty interesting.” Mark D. Powers
“Twin Peaks Tavern in the Castro” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“This is a painting based fairly loosely on my photograph of Twin Peaks Tavern in the Castro. I painted out a lot of people and detail to make the composition stronger and give the eyes some place to rest. There’s still a lot going on, which was important to capture, but I wanted all eyes to move toward Twin Peaks Tavern in this piece.” Mark D. Powers
“Scooter at 18th and Dolores” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“Dolores Street is lined with healthy mature palm trees that create a surprising amount of shade. It helps people beat the heat and makes the charming expansive boulevard feel more like a community, especially at 18th Street, near Dolores Park.” Mark D. Powers
“Lone Love” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“I love seeing weird stuff in San Francisco. Right after I snapped her picture, she turned to me and flipped me the bird. I’ve chosen not to paint that version of history. But I did strive to capture her forlorn look.
A lot of people do wedding photo shoots at the beach, but this lady looked like she had had enough. The word LOVE really was spray painted near her and it also really looked like the cursive word LONE.” Mark D. Powers
“Up on Broadway” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
The city’s red light district sleeps all day…
“Above North Beach, on Broadway sits the city’s infamous red light district, which still thrives at night. During the day Broadway is harshly lit and oddly romantic. It’s turned inside out like being in one of these nightclubs when the lights get turned on. Or so I can imagine.” Mark D. Powers
“Waiting to Cross Stockton at Jackson” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“This is my favorite painting of the series because there are several stories taking place, including the idea that it captures the exact moment when the light has changed and people are about to step into the crosswalk. There’s a pent up sense of movement about to begin, which was really fun to paint.” Mark D. Powers
“Selling His Wares in Front of Hop Hing” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“I’m a trained sign painter so these Chinatown signs are a fun challenge (I don’t write in anything but English). I wanted to paint this sign and I wanted to focus on the guy selling necklaces. I could have blurred out the signage but that would have been no fun and felt lazy. Instead, I added a lot of detail on his display stand in an attempt to pull the viewer’s eye down to where the guy is sitting.” Mark D. Powers
‘Peter Pumpkinhead in SOMA” 10 X 10 X 1.75 acrylic on panel, 2024
“On my favorite SOMA street, I did a doubletake, laughed, then wondered what the smell must be like inside that pumpkin.” Mark D. Powers