The Crows of Bishop Field

Sometimes you get these ideas and you go…oh man that would be so cool…I gotta do that. Then you get another idea and go…man I gotta do that…and then another…

Most of the time for me the problem is not getting the ideas…the problem is that they don’t make themselves. Some of the ideas do get executed because you have this very strong passion to do them. Those ideas are usually the stupid ones that you can’t get out of your brain…but hey…sometimes they are the coolest. Case in point…

The Crows of Bishop Field.

It all started at a gathering my partner and I went to with some artsy, weed, drinking, cocaine type people who were yipping and yapping about themselves and trying to puff up their art and music stuff. They showed me their new CD and it was a sort of shadowy blurry picture of a crow on a gray background. It reminded me of a picture I saw once of a sidewalk in New York City where someone had spray-painted a crow on the sidewalk with a stencil. I thought it would be cool to do something like that here in town.

Now my partner loved crows and we had crow paintings all over the joint so this idea came on strong and I knew I had to do it. I had to do it right then. I scrambled around the back room and found a couple of cardboard boxes and I drew 3 crow silhouettes and cut them out.

I grabbed a can of black spray paint and started to go tell my partner and head out but something stopped in my tracks…another idea came into my brain. Maybe I shouldn’t tell them? Maybe I should keep it a secret? Maybe it could be like my own mischievous project and it would be more fun for me if no one knew who was doing it. It would be kinda like my own private public art.

I couldn’t just sneak out cause if they came down stairs for some reason they would wonder where the fuck I went and it would all be ruined…hmmm…the dogs! Yes…the dogs…that was the answer. I put my stuff by the front door and went upstairs and grabbed the dogs off the bed and told them I was just going out for a walk with the dogs for a bit.

Now walking down the street with 2 dogs on leashes with 3 large stencils and a can of spray paint in a garbage bag tucked under your arm is one thing…but sneaking around the sidewalks pulling out stencils and trying to spray them with 2 dogs going this way and that is quite a feat I must tell you! But I did it! I managed to get 3 done and was able to sneak back in the house and hide the stuff in the back room and no one was any wiser.

A couple of days go by and my partner comes in one afternoon and tells me about these crows they have seen on the sidewalk and they were cool and one was even right down the way to the entrance of our street. They even took me to see it. It was kind of a rush to see how excited they were about the crows. I must continue I thought. So I did.

I would sneak out every 3 or 4 nights and do a few more. Then I started to put them on the sidewalk in front of places and peoples houses that I liked.

One in front of the corner store. One in front of Richard’s house. One in front of the health food store.

One in front of the steep street heading downtown. One in front of the building where some nice people hired me to do a commission once. I put them all over the shop. I was thinking it would be like a badge of honor if a crow showed up in front of your house. I guess in a way it was like marking my territory too.

Then people started talking about them…have you seen the crows? What do they mean? Why is there one in front of my house? Old Mr. Brown 4 doors down thought they may be the calling card of the local Illuminati and it was a sign of protection for the neighborhood. Then I saw a post on Facebook where somebody had a picture and referred to them as “The Crows of Bishop Field.” I was loving it and I never said a word.

Nobody ever stopped me or even paid notice on my excursions. I was quite surprised really. I had a couple of close calls of course but I just put my stencils back in my garbage bag and went on my way. It was often difficult handling the 2 dogs who were not into stopping and staying still as I did my spray duties and a few times they got in the way and paws were hit with a overspray and wet paint was stepped in but I carried a rag and was always able to wipe them down pretty good…although my partner did ask once “Why are Joe’s paws so black?…umm…he must have stepped in something I would say…there was some kind of roofing tar on the road. Oh...why does Olive have that black mark on her belly?...umm…oh…I was working on a painting in the front room and Olive knocked over paint water and it got on her I guess…

I was enjoying it all really but the more I did, the further I had to go to find new spots in the neighborhood and the longer it took. This went on for about a month until…one night I came back to the house with my stencils and dogs and I opened the front door and my partner was awake and in the front room just off the front vestibule where I came in. They came out looked at me quizzically. What are you doing?...what’s in the bag?. What’s that awful spray paint smell?..Then it hit them…I was the crow man! All this time I was the crow man and they never had a clue. We laughed about it…cleaned up the dogs together and that was the end of it.

We admired my handy work as we walked around the hood together until the crows faded away over time. My partner never told anyone that it was I and I think they had a bit of fun with it all too being the only other one who knew the secret of The Crows Of Bishop Field.

Sometimes I think you just have to do art stuff for yourself. Not so others can see it and praise you so you can bask in the adulation of your perceived genius…do it just because it makes you feel good. No one else needs to know but it is a bonus when it entertains others as well…I mean…why not? Is it art…probably not but it sure was a fun ride as far as the crow flies.

Perhaps one day The Crows Of Bishop Field will fly again. If they do I promise you it won’t be me…but then again, you never know.

Thanks for reading.