by Gracie Warda
It’s winter in the 1960s. A family of four has a special day planned, a visit to the Boston Common. One daughter clutches her mother’s fur-lined coat in one hand, and her sister’s hand in the other. She tugs at her long, white gloves, and asks to stop at the ice cream shop in Beacon Hill. This little girl is Liz Roache, and she will grow up to be a painter in the Boston area. In fact, she will have a piece of artwork in that very same park— a life size cow painted pink with flowers to honor her mother.
The Boston Common features many different types of art, including musical art, paintings, and sculptures. The Common has been an unexpected gallery for local artists since 1634. Locals and visitors alike stop to gaze at statues on their strolls, or make their way through sidewalk-chalk mazes. Park musicians set the ambiance with upbeat tunes, and local artists lay their work out on picnic blankets for purchase. The Boston Common welcomes its visitors with open arms, eager to share the history of the city through art.
Several historical monuments found their home in the Boston Common, like The Embrace, Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and Parkman Plaza. These are permanent art installments capturing pivotal moments in history. The Embrace was the latest permanent addition in January of this year, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Tourists from all over the world flock to the Boston Common to see statues like these.
Public art in the Boston Common is managed by the Boston Art Commission, a volunteer group in the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture. They are supported by the Friends of the Public Garden, a park advocacy group. These groups collaborate on artworks throughout the city, especially the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden.
These groups also manage some temporary installations in the parks, like the CowParade New England. This recurring installation includes a collection of decorative cows, which are scattered around the New England area. The Common was used to graze livestock until 1830, so this artwork’s nudge to its historical roots brings new life to a well-loved space.
One cow this year made its way to Newbury street, in front of the Copley Society of Art. Austin Ikes, a lifelong Bostonian, is their Media Assistant. He has an MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture. “Getting your work in the Common is a huge deal… The Embrace was in the works for years and years and years,” he said. “I grew up here and I remember seeing the cows as a kid.”
The Dana-Farber institute partnered with the Jimmy Fund for the 2023 Cow Parade. 70 local artists painted life-size cow statues, which were auctioned off to raise money for cancer research. Liz Roache and Deb Downes were the artists of Josephine, one of ten cows that appeared in the Common.
Josephine was bright pink and covered in white flowers, her neon colors and eccentric pattern true to Liz’s artistic style. Liz and her sister are both cancer survivors, and they lost their mother to cancer. “When I was first asked, I didn’t really want to do it because I don’t like painting cows…or things like that. But I did it because it’s Dana-Farber,” she said. With a cause so close to home, the inspiration for Josephine was born.
Josephine’s iconic shade of pink appears frequently in Liz’s work, which people often assume is because of breast cancer awareness. The color match is purely coincidental, though. “She wasn’t really pink because of breast cancer,” Liz said. “She was pink because that’s the lipstick [my mother] wore to the beach every day in the summer. She always had really loud, vibrant clothes, so I thought the flowers would add the energy to her, the optimism to her, with a very serious message.” Liz reminds her audience that early detection is key, and never to skip their mammograms.
During college, Liz lived in an apartment in Beacon Hill, just a short walk from the future display of Josephine. Walking through the Common on installation day, she is filled with memories of growing up near Boston, even passing what was her favorite ice cream shop as a child. “It was more hard for me to leave my mother, or a symbol of my mother, in a public place than it was emotional for me to be back. That was hard,” she said.
Josephine found her home in the Boston Common, but Liz knew about the risks she faced as a public art installment. Back at the warehouse, with a backup pair of eyelashes at the ready, Liz was up at night thinking about Josephine. “Is she going to be alright in there by herself? It’s cold, it’s windy, it rained all of June,” she said, worried about the pink paint chipping away. Weather was not the only risk for Josephine, though.
Joyce Josephson posted photos online of the graffiti covering Josephine’s floral pattern. “It broke my heart to see this on someone's work of art…” the caption read. The artists’ preparation was not enough to protect Josephine from the damage she would incur.
“When she came back into the warehouse to fix her, it was like she had been through the war,” Liz said with a laugh. “You always have to expect it, but when it happens, it’s sad. She had all of this graffiti written on the side of her, and I thought ‘why would anybody do that to a pink cow?’”
Liz also points out that she has noticed a difference in the presentation of the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden. Even though both parks are managed by the same groups, all interviewees preferred the Boston Public Garden to the Boston Common.
“To me, the Boston Common, it needs some love,” Liz said. “It could use more sculpture, it could use some more beauty. I don’t know why they can’t bring some of the beauty from across the street to there.” She believes that art brings a fresh coat of paint to a dull space.
While people have always complimented Nick’s drawings, he had to earn respect with his music. He has worked to hone both crafts, but admits that drawing comes more naturally. Nick says that the city (and the people in it) inspire all of his work. He remembers riding the train and drawing the Boston cityscape for practice growing up.
“The city had made me sociable, and observant of people,” he said. “I learned how to draw on the train.”
And sociable he is. While he’s drawing, Nick is often cracking jokes with his muses, making his art an experience for those visitors of the Common. Nick is always chatting it up with those around him, about anything from conspiracy theories to dating advice. He is able to fill any awkward silence, and makes his subjects comfortable while he draws. Maybe it’s the musician in him, but a drawing with Nick is never quiet. He says that there’s no secret to filling the silence, he just enjoys speaking what is on his mind.
“He is the sweetest guy ever, he’s really nice,” said Aibhlinn Regan, a freshman at Suffolk University. “Whenever he has someone to draw, he immediately starts a discussion with them, asks them about themselves. He’s not there to just do the drawings, he actually cares.”
Regan has been following Nick on social media for a few months. There, she discovered his portraits and music, which other students and locals were also posting about. Her favorite song is This Life is True.
“He has a very different outlook,” Regan said. “It’s abstract.” When she moved to the city for school, she couldn’t wait to get one of Nick’s signature portraits, and talk to him about his music.
“I wanted him to draw me so bad,” she said. “I saw someone post on Snapchat that he was in the Common, so I started running around frantically looking for him. We finally found him, and he drew me, my roommate, and my boyfriend.” Regan was eager to be interviewed about one of her favorite artists. During the Zoom interview, her portrait was taped on the wall of her dorm, on display for all to see.
“I found Nick just from walking in the park and seeing him on TikTok,” she said.
He’s no stranger to the attention on social media. Regan was one of many fans posting about Nick, whether it be his music, his drawings, or his shining personality. He relies on social media to connect with his audience. One Instagram commenter even called him “Mr. Boston Common.”
Nick has six albums on Apple Music from 2023 alone. He also makes time to draw in the Common several times a week, sometimes more in the summer months. What is his secret to producing art so quickly, and at such a high volume? Don’t do drugs, kids.
“When I stopped smoking weed, I found myself being really productive,” he said. “Since then, I’ve made so much music… but everyone’s different.”
Liz is not the only artist looking to the Common, for inspiration though. Past the cow in the park, you might find Nick Shea with a cardboard box on his head and a smile drawn on it, filming his latest music video.
“There’s always some crazy people in the park,” Nick said. “But for the most part it’s a chill place to be.”
Nick is a rapper who grew up in East Boston. His music is emotional and personal, resembling story rap styles. His following might be small, with just over 200 monthly listeners, but it is mighty. Perhaps they are drawn in by his creative music videos, or maybe they enjoy his localized feel. Unlike many lesser-known artists, his music is available on major streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.
Nick’s music focuses on his experience with Boston, with many songs inspired by the city and the people in it. Several of his songs reference aspects of Boston, like skateparks and the MBTA. He also uses the Boston Common as a set for some of his music videos, and says that it’s the perfect location because there’s so many people there.
He is not just a rapper, though. On sunny days, you can find him perched on a park bench with a pizza box sign advertising his $1 portraits. Visitors line up through the Common for his minimalist marker drawings. Luckily, he has a stack of index cards ready to go, even though he rarely makes mistakes with the permanent marker.
Nick has a signature style, and he uses it for more than portraits in the park. Walking through the city, fans might recognize his line work on garbage cans, cardboard boxes, and even an ice bucket outside of the downtown P.F. Chang’s.
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As Liz says, art is essential for creating community spaces. Whether they are posing in front of Josephine or waiting in line for a Nick Shea drawing, visitors from around the world can find the hidden gems in the Boston Common.
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