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Artist’s Statement
FRESH, RIPE, DELICIOUS
at
A Bitchin’ Space
Using the label format as a touchstone
for fine art paintings is something I’ve
been doing for years (predominantly
firecracker labels). Living in West
Sacramento for more than 10 years, I
couldn’t help but be captivated by the
graphic history of produce label art
used in the agricultural industry in this
region from the 1900s to 1950s.
Clarksburg, Rio Vista, Courtland, the
river delta region in general. Hell, Yolo
County for that matter. This area is
rich with produce label history.
Something happened in the 50s
though – cardboard. With a cheaper
means of packaging fresh produce
came a cheapening of the graphics
that were used to “sell” the product.
The trained artists that rendered these
images, usually including the hand-
designed fonts, produced work
anonymously for a paycheck and
couldn’t have given a rat’s ass about
the originals. It was a means to an end.
Fast forward to the present, there’s
renewed interest and respect for these
images from the past. The images
were traditionally painted using
gouache or watercolor and were
approximately two to three times the
size of the finished or printed label. It
is my intent to reintroduce the format
using acrylic on canvas on a much
larger scale with today’s sensibilities
and a heavy dose of humor, in an
attempt to appeal to the fan that hence
far has been unable to obtain originals
from this bygone era.
As an added bonus, I will be hand
painting a patina’d produce distribution
image on my daily driven 1940 Chevy
pick-up, filling it up with various fruits
and vegetables, and parking it in the
gallery as the centerpiece to the
show. The look and feel being era
appropriate.
There will be plenty more surprises at
this four-day event. See it now, or
hear about it later.
Bruce Gossett
FRESH, RIPE, DELICIOUS
at
A Bitchin’ Space
Using the label format as a touchstone
for fine art paintings is something I’ve
been doing for years (predominantly
firecracker labels). Living in West
Sacramento for more than 10 years, I
couldn’t help but be captivated by the
graphic history of produce label art
used in the agricultural industry in this
region from the 1900s to 1950s.
Clarksburg, Rio Vista, Courtland, the
river delta region in general. Hell, Yolo
County for that matter. This area is
rich with produce label history.
Something happened in the 50s
though – cardboard. With a cheaper
means of packaging fresh produce
came a cheapening of the graphics
that were used to “sell” the product.
The trained artists that rendered these
images, usually including the hand-
designed fonts, produced work
anonymously for a paycheck and
couldn’t have given a rat’s ass about
the originals. It was a means to an end.
Fast forward to the present, there’s
renewed interest and respect for these
images from the past. The images
were traditionally painted using
gouache or watercolor and were
approximately two to three times the
size of the finished or printed label. It
is my intent to reintroduce the format
using acrylic on canvas on a much
larger scale with today’s sensibilities
and a heavy dose of humor, in an
attempt to appeal to the fan that hence
far has been unable to obtain originals
from this bygone era.
As an added bonus, I will be hand
painting a patina’d produce distribution
image on my daily driven 1940 Chevy
pick-up, filling it up with various fruits
and vegetables, and parking it in the
gallery as the centerpiece to the
show. The look and feel being era
appropriate.
There will be plenty more surprises at
this four-day event. See it now, or
hear about it later.
Bruce Gossett
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