HOT NOW

Krispy Kreme on Franklin Street, 10x7" watercolor

In 2007 I was commissioned by the Parents Council of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to paint Franklin Street. See painting below, now available as an 8x24" giclée reproduction.

Students who came up with the idea for the painting gave me the names of what they believed to be the most popular establishments on their highly revered block of Franklin Street. With my trusted little red canvas folding stool, I went all the way down the 100 block of East Franklin Street and did small watercolor studies of the various locations. All but one of those paintings sold, many of them to parent members on the Council. I was able to include the Ram’s Head Rathskellar in the final painting. Known as “The Rat,” the popular pub and eatery closed that very year, but has since reopened.

One thing that did not exist on Franklin Street in 2007 was Krispy Kreme®, a doughnut shop originally founded in Winston-Salem, NC some forty-five years ago. I consider the watercolor featured above my most successful attempt at capturing the HOT NOW sign associated with North Carolina’s iconic doughnut shops.

Carolina Spirit: Franklin Street, original watercolor 16x60"