My Scrapbook
“Look Out”
by Leslie Peterson Sapp
This is the one that sold me. I love most of Oregon artist Leslie Peterson Sapp’s noir-inspired art, but there’s something about this one that screams “NOIR!”
And it’s not just the fedora—there’s something bitter and resigned and dripping with regret about this one. Something incredibly sad, maybe. What’s the story? Why’d he let her go? Is he letting her get away with murder? Or something worse? Is it even a “she” he’s watching? Will they ever see each other again? (I’m guessing “No”)
Or maybe it IS the hat…
Despite the iconic haberdashery and city-at-night setting, used and abused in about a zillion movies, TV shows and book covers, there’s no real evidence that the man is a private eye, or even involved in anything dubious at all. He could be a just a guy having a smoke. And yet I chose this image to feature on the “cover” of our our 25th anniversary “issue,” because there’s just something about it.
The artist herself has a few question herself, like “Is he a ‘look out?”
“Does he need to ‘look out?’”
“Or has he simply gone to the window to ‘look out?’”
“Or is it all three?”
THE PAINTING
- LOOK OUT
(30×24, Acrylic on panel)
Available from the RiverSea Gallery
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- Leslie Petrson Sapp: I Paint What I Feel… and I Feel Noir
This site’s profile/interview with the artist - Leslie Peterson Sapp: My Art Tells a Story
The artist’s official web site, with an impressive gallery of her work, some sharp musings on noir and more.
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
