BREA : Sheltering Artworks on the Go

Kelly Wine hopes that some day his paintings will hang in the nation’s finest art galleries.

But for now, he’s content that two of his works are on display at a bus shelter here.

“Like all artists, I’m looking for attention, recognition, money and fame,” said Wine, 27, an art student at Fullerton College. “This might be the start.”

Wedged between plexiglass panels, Wine’s “California Stop,” and “Dead End” acrylic paintings are displayed at the bus shelter at Birch Lane and South Associated Road.

The paintings are among 10 works by local artists on display at five bus shelters around the city. In 1991 the City Council approved the art shelter program to bring “art to the streets,” officials said.

The program was intended to beautify the city as well as give local artists an opportunity to display their work, said program coordinator Christy Wada.

In addition to Wine’s work, paintings by artists Mary Monge, Mildred Kouzel, Mark Florian and Christina Wong are displayed in other shelters, Wada said.

“Bus passengers are our main audience,” Wada said. “We want art that is colorful and not too detailed.” Most of the paintings are landscapes, she said.

Wine used red, orange and yellow acrylics to paint a California landscape of street signs, a winding road, cliffs and hillsides. Three stop signs dominate the “California Stop” painting, while yield signs are the focus in the “Dead End” painting.

The signs are a metaphor for his life and career, Wine said.

“The life of an artist is like that. You hit a few stop signs,” Wine said. “You hit a speed bump or something unpleasant, but you just try to move on, hoping to find a breakthrough over the hills.”

Wine called one painting “Dead End” because an artist “goes through a lot of rejections,” he said.

Wine said he does not expect a person waiting for the bus to look at his paintings long enough to understand their meaning.

“I don’t expect to enlighten people with my work,” he said. “If it happens, great.”

Attention is enough, he said. That’s why he paints with a lot of red, green, yellow and blue.

“I like bold colors,” Wine said. “It grabs attention.”

After five years trying to make a living as an artist, Wine said he’s still looking for a breakthrough. He lives with his parents in Garden Grove and supplements his income by working as a part-time custom framer for an art supply store in Orange.

Wine’s paintings have been displayed at local galleries, including the Brea Gallery, for the past five years. A collection of his watercolors were featured in a 1991 issue of American Artist magazine.

Right now he’s developing a comic strip for possible syndication. For the bus shelter paintings, Wine said he was paid $600.

The bus shelters were installed by Tustin-based California Bus Shelters, Wada said. The contractor paid the city $1,000 for each shelter. In addition, the city shares in the advertising proceeds. Last year, the city earned $9,000 and this year hopes to make $6,000.

Each shelter features two paintings. The city plans to allow the contractor to install five more shelters, Wada said.

Plans call for replacing the paintings every six months, Wada said.

“We want to bring the art experience to the people,” she said.