“I was trying to only paint things that I have done as graffiti but that became too time consuming so then I decided to be a painter”, says Cal State University Long Beach graduate-student artist, James Real. During his time as an undergraduate here at Long Beach, James decided to take his education elsewhere and study abroad in Italy for two semesters. He had originally chosen Italy because he studies anthropology and finds different cultures interesting. Since James is Italian, he was even more interested in the culture there.
The above piece is featured in James’ gallery at CSULB. He had originally wanted to do the piece on an Italian wall but but he never was given the chance, so he decided to do it with an Los Angeles setting instead. The painting features two people, James Real and his “friend [he] had met at a bar near the school [he] was intending in Italy”. He never had the opportunity to get a picture with said friend so this painting is a tribute to him. James also includes a lyric from the Pink Floyd song, “Wish You Were Here” as well as an Italian text. James’ style is contemporary because of his use of 3-D art; yet. still discusses things in a traditional style.
Emma Madsen 