POP UP ART GALLERY_ Highway underpass.
'Neath the highway's towering expanse, Concealed art in a quiet trance, Erin McGee Ferrell's skilled hand, Ten canvases in this urban land.
As cars pause, engines softly hum, Drivers glimpse, their hearts succumb, Brief moments of art's embrace, In the red light's temporal grace.
Colors bold, emotions displayed, On canvas under the overpass's shade, A still life, vibrant and serene, In their cars, a visual scene.
At stoplights, they briefly pause, Art amidst the city's laws, A moment's respite from the road, In Erin's art, their spirits bestowed.
Erin McGee Ferrell & AI
ABC NEWS
Pop-up gallery in an underpass is a birthday surprise from an artist to us!
Did you see the paintings on Veranda Street?
PORTLAND, Maine —
How would you choose to spend your birthday? Well, for Erin McGee Ferrell, she decided to make everyone's day a little bit brighter.
"It's kind of putting art in places where people don't expect it," Ferrell said when asked why she put her pop-up in an underpass.
Ferrell is an artist. She's been painting since she was a child. While she's had traditional gallery showings in the past, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, she decided to do something spontaneous.
"Every time I'm waiting at this light, I always think I would love to see big paintings. Why don't I stick my paintings on here for a day and see what happens?" Ferrell said.
With the help of her husband, she set up shop early this morning in the underpass at the Falmouth-Portland border. She displayed half a dozen 6-foot paintings. Each one is a memorable moment or a loved one.
"'I've got paintings that I have done of my daughter in quarantine.been wearing her prom dress. ... I've got my daughter and her fiancé moving to Chicago." Ferrell said.
She's survived breast cancer, she's also a professor at UNE and on her birthday this year, she decided to bring her art, her story, to everyone, and they didn't even have to leave their cars.
"Why should I ask these hundreds of people to come to an art show that I'm having, whereas I can bring my art and my active art-making experience to them while they're feeling like they're wasting time waiting for a red light," Ferrell said.
Ferrell said the plan is to go even bigger for her next installation.
