Art from the Street!

(Click on photo for a close-up view)


The air in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador, Central America, was hot and sticky.

All cars had ground to a halt for a traffic light. From inside the car, we saw a young man on the median strip holding up a large canvas. It was a painting of two boats gliding along water with mountains in the background. He held it up high and was waving it for all to see.

"Honey," I said to my husband. "That painting is gorgeous. Ask him how much he's selling it for." He rolled down the window and inquired.

Ten dollars in American money came the answer. My husband yelled out that we'd take it.


The young artist opened the back door of our car as the traffic light changed to green. We scrambled quickly to get the money together and my husband stuffed it into the artist's hand just as cars behind us started to beep.

Our car lurched forward and we were off, painting from the street in the back seat.

That was a long time ago. The coveted painting traveled to the United States with us when we moved back; then to Arizona for more than a decade; then back to the east.

Today, it hangs on our laundry room wall so that when folding clothes, I can dream of past experiences that almost seem like they didn't happen.


Wherever that artist is today, I wish him well. If only there were a way I could tell him how much we still love his work of art from the street.

What, if anything, do you like about this painting?