Armonk Resident Transforms His Car into a Canvas
Most people would scurry to the nearest police station to file a report if they found anybody had drawn on their car. Philip Romano encourages it.
A little more than a month ago the 20-year-old Armonk resident bought four cans of black chalkboard paint and after about 15 hours transformed his red 2004 Elantra into a public canvas.
“I like being creative and (doing) neat projects,” Romano said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Romano, a psychology major at SUNY Geneseo who will be entering his senior year this fall, makes sure to keep a bucket of multicolored street chalk with him in the car. Whenever he parks, he leaves five to 10 of the oversized sticks on the roof, hood and trunk so passersby can have some fun.
His vanity license plate–DRAWONME–is one way he spurs on sidewalk artists. He also looks to inspire the masses by getting it started with a few quick notes.
“Usually I’ll park it somewhere and I’ll write Draw on Me in a few places and I just leave the chalk out,” Romano said. “When I come back, it’s full of drawings.”
The best reactions to date have been the several times he’s driven the car into Manhattan. Fittingly, it took less than half an hour for the entire car body to be covered when Romano parked it outside the Museum of Modern Art. The response was so positive that he returned to the venue a second time.
After the first trip to the museum, Romano said he hadn’t finished writing his own notes when a swarm of people descended on the vehicle.
Then, of course, when he drives the car when it’s covered in writings and drawings, stares come his way.
“Usually when I’m driving it after it’s fully drawn on I get a lot of strange looks but people seem to like it,” Romano said.
Most people will write their name and where they’re from or other short notes. In the city, Romano has received notes from tourists from Georgia, California, Arizona as well as from Canada, Germany and Israel. Others will demonstrate a more artistic flair by leaving drawings. Romano said nearly all of the messages and pictures left have been in good taste and no one has stolen a piece of chalk.
“There’s been very little profanity on it,” he said. “The only place where it happened is when I parked it in Armonk.”
He either waits for the rain to wash it away or sprays a garden hose on it for a few minutes. Romano said he could also use a chalkboard eraser to wipe it clean.
You would think that Romano can’t wait until fall to drive the car back to school, but he’s uncertain that he’ll do that since there’s almost no need to drive within the college’s community, he said.
However, he’ll continue to provide people closer to home the enjoyment of giving them a few minutes of creativity and bringing a smile to their face.
“That’s probably my favorite part,” Romano said, “being able to make someone happy.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
