lk, one of the half-dozen convenience stores within 4 blocks of our apartment. I like Paul's because it's run by a friendly, somewhat-elderly Asian couple (I've always had a soft spot for the older crowd), it has an interesting name, and it has this fabulous graffiti mural on the side.Every time I walk past this mural I have to take a good look. It really livens up the drab white brick of the store. The bright blue background and the green and yellow-orange "tags" always catch my eye, but the best part of the mural, hands down, is the portrait at the right.
I don't often see graffiti portraits of Asians; I'm used to thuggish caricatures and over-the-top illustrations. This guy seems different though; thoughtful, maybe a little sad... and is he drooling? I can't really tell, and that seems a little out of place anyhow, so I'll just say no. He's got this dreamy haze around him too, which softens the whole effect even more. Looking at him, and knowing that the owners of his build
ing are also Asian...Maybe the wife stole outside late one night and, as a gift to her sleeping husband, painted a noble portrait of him in his younger, more handsome days.
Maybe a group of young vandals saw the blank wall and worked passionately with their spray paint, not realizing that the ancestors/guardians of Paul's Milk chose the subject of their piece. When they stepped back to admire their work, the vandals realized they had sprayed the likeness of a stranger - the late son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul's Milk, killed in a tragic accident thirty years ago that day. Mr. and Mrs. PM were so moved, they decided not to paint over it.
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