I’ve ‘been dere and done dat’, so don’t get your feathers up over the title of this painting. For the record; it has been about 50 years since I’ve been ‘there’ and done ‘that’.
Back then, ’dope’ is what police and judges called marijuana. Today, those types are the ones scurrying out the back doors of ‘Smoke Shops’ with their little baggies of CBD related product tucked into brief cases and purses.
In 2020, I set up my easel across the street to paint ACE. Some customers caught sight of me; most looked suspiciously, one even turned away before crossing the threshold.
After the Eton Fire had destroyed ACE, along with its neighboring businesses in the area, I put it near the bottom of my list to repaint since I had no personal connection to it. One day while I was painting in the area, I saw men with clipboards doing a visual survey of the area. I moved ACE near the top of my list, and painted it within a few days.
It’s a good thing I did. The next time I drove past it, a fence surrounded the ruins and hid it from street view.