Brooklyn: [We k]now you know we are cooler than you. 2011. Acrylic on Baltic Birch Ply. 36″ x 48″.

The frantic, Abstract Expressionist style of the underpainting is common for the signs. I liked this one enough, however, to keep as the visible coat. I felt it fit the direction of the text somehow.

Erasure wordplay; if you didn’t already know that the people who live in Brooklyn were cooler than you, now you know.

Clearer detail of erasure wordplay; if you didn’t already know that the people who live in Brooklyn were cooler than you, now you know.

“Welcome to” seemingly blocked out by official-looking anti-graffiti Kilz, as if yielding to the sentiments of the local population. I also was playing with the size of the borough name/ego and decided to leave both.

The non-erased “Now Entering” is less welcoming and was seemingly put on the sign after “welcome to” had been erased. However, due to the frantic nature of the non-unified underpainting, the egress indication is still hard to read.

Corner Detail – Still experimenting with the outside curved band and its effects on the picture plane. In practice on the Interstate Highway System, the band is usually all the way to the edge and reflective.