A Constant Muse: Sister Corita Kent’s Rainbow Swash

I tend to draw the same things over and over again: clouds, baseball hats, the Citgo sign, high-top basketball sneakers, the giant painted gas tank next to 93 in Dorchester (commonly referred to as the Rainbow Swash).

I use to worry about this repetition. Have I no imagination? I’m never going to improve if I keep drawing the same things, I thought.

But I don’t think like that anymore, thanks in part to Provincetown artist Adam Peck.

Just some of Adam Peck’s paintings. Photo from adampeckgallery.com

I’ve loved Peck’s modest box houses since I first saw them at his gallery on Commercial Street. Simple, quiet, each a sort of blank slate to project onto. What’s going on in there (and there, and there)?

And there were so many of them! Sprawling neighborhoods of individual houses, some facing the sunlight, some under starry skies. A few lighthouses mixed in, a boat or two, but mostly the house. House sculptures, even.

Peck’s devotion to his muse helped alleviate any concerns I had about drawing the same thing time after time.

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In that spirit, here is yet another design inspired by Sister Corita Kent’s iconic Boston landmark. 😀

I’ve loved and been fascinated by Kent’s massive painting since I first saw it as a kid. The audacity!

Recently, I had a dream of a gigantic Sister Corita standing over the tank, painting. The tank is 140-feet tall, which would make Kent 300-feet tall in this design. That’s a lot of nun, respectfully.

Available on blank note cards and stickers.

Early sketches.