Until 2048 - original upcycled vintage painting

"Until 2048" 
Altered painting on vintage canvas by Heather Castles

This commission was for close friends who  moved to Boston from Toronto… they had left an old family painting with me that they wanted “something” added into it but weren’t sure what. But  after living in Boston for six months, they knew what they wanted added… a post-apocalyptic CITGO sign rising from the waves. I really enjoyed weathering the sign with rust, barnacles and seaweed, and imagining what could happen in the future that this sign would end up alone on that beach, still standing. 

The CITGO sign was installed in 1940, and has had an interesting history in its life above the Boston skyline. A recognizable symbol to every Boston Red Sox fan (it is lit up above the left field wall at Fenway Park), it has been repaired, updated, involved in political and environmental protests. In 1983 the sign nearly was removed entirely, but protests by fans of the familiar landmark stopped it from being taken down and it has been there ever since. 

In 2018, the Boston Landmarks Commission was unsuccessful in having it declared an actual Boston landmark… but it has been granted 30 more years above the Boston skyline. So you can still see the CITGO sign above Fenway Park… until 2048.