The Genesis

“Keep Portland Feared” began as a heartfelt gift—an offering to the first friend I made in this vibrant city. He had just moved into stable housing, and I wanted to commemorate this pivotal moment. He asked me to paint him the Portland waterfront. He was a fan of scary movies, and our first art swap was me giving him a pencil drawing I did of Frankenstein's monster, which we nicknamed "Freddie". With the art exchange on my mind, I continued the scary movie theme.

The Scary Movie Theme

As I dipped my brush into the palette, memories flooded back. My father and I had a secret pact: scary movies were our forbidden fruit. If I watched them, I couldn’t seek refuge in their room with nightmares. And if I did, those spine-tingling films would remain forever locked away. It was my rite of passage.

I recalled the basement screening of “The Blair Witch Project” with my third-grade classmates. The flickering shadows, the whispered legends—it all felt real. For years, I thought it was all real. How fascinating that art could evoke such primal emotions!

Progress Shots

With Freddie as my muse, I painted in public, engaging passersby in conversations about their favorite horror films. I enjoyed the slowly developing understory of how misrepresented and multi-faceted the people in my neighborhood are.

This painting was homegrown in the neighborhood and by the community. It combines moments of collaboration and connectedness and shows a very different side of what some people learn to fear. I asked r/portland to help me name it "Keep Portland Feared" was the winner.

Dimensions:

24” x 36” Acrylic on Canvas

Completion: October 31st, 2023