Neil House Columbus Landmark 1986

William Hawkins made "Neil House Columbus Landmark" with oil on masonite. The painting's vibrant colors and flattened perspective create a lively, almost dreamlike vision of urban architecture. Hawkins employs bold color blocks and repetitive shapes to construct a cityscape that is both familiar and fantastical. The buildings, rendered in shades of red, purple, black, and white, are stacked in a rhythmic pattern, drawing the eye upward. The texture of the masonite board adds a tactile quality to the painting, grounding its whimsical elements in materiality. The overall composition challenges traditional notions of depth and perspective. Instead of receding into the distance, the buildings press forward, creating a dense, almost claustrophobic space. This flattening of space, combined with the bright, saturated colors, creates a sense of immediacy and vibrancy. This approach prompts us to reconsider how we perceive and represent urban environments, inviting us to find beauty and meaning in the everyday structures that surround us.