Aaron Cossrow's painting of people in front of Lucky Mart in central Seoul's Bogwang-dong / Courtesy of Aaron Cossrow

Already in the past month, American artist Aaron Cossrow has exhibited his work solo in central Seoul's Insa-dong, where he was among the 34 foreign artists participating in Yongsan International Art Festival.

But he's far from done, unveiling his latest painting, titled "Lucky Mart in Bogwangdong," on social media Oct. 20. The oil-on-canvas painting, measuring 80 cm by 100 cm, shows a group of people sorting through produce in front of Lucky Mart in Bogwang-dong's Bogwang-ro, a neighborhood just south of Itaewon.

"Bogwang-ro is your standard market in any older Seoul neighborhood," Cossrow told The Korea Times, describing the neighborhood. "There are a few grocery stores, an everything-in-the-world shop, a Pizza School, some tteokbokki stands, an old fried chicken place and all of the other fan favorites you would hope to find on your favorite street. There is also the wood shop, the older guys who sell lumber to construction workers. This is where I pick up my wood to build my canvas frames. There's a paint shop and printer which in my line of work I find very useful."

Cossrow has been gaining a lot of attention with his paintings of Seoul's street life, with his art in recent years focused especially on downtown Seoul's Euljiro area and Itaewon, on the other side of Mount Nam to the south. He has a studio space in Hannam-dong, just on its border with Bogwang-dong.

"It was the start of Chuseok weekend when I went out hunting for a subject for a new painting," he said. "I had a feeling local markets would be poppin' off with grandmoms grabbing some veggies for the upcoming family feasts. The streets were a bit more quiet, most shops closed for the holiday. It was late afternoon, the sun high in the sky, shining through the leaves on the trees, just now beginning to change their color."

On his walk, he came across Lucky Mart, which was still active during the six-day long weekend.

"Lucky Mart is your standard Korean grocery store with vegetables and produce in boxes outside with white tags and handwritten prices," Cossrow said. "All the fan favorites are there, those robust heads of radish, cabbages ready to be transformed into kimchi, cucumbers, apples. The colors are iconic, the dark green of the baskets, the red plastic, the orange awning and white Hangeul characters. The colors of the market matched the autumn air."

He approached the workers out front busy selling discounted cabbages for the holiday, making contact with a Mr. Kim, who appears on the right side of his final painting.

"I busted out my portfolio and handed him a business card, explaining my operation in my limited Korean. He gave me the thumbs up," Cossrow said. "Half focusing on his customers and half focused on my phone camera, he did his best posing for the photos. He put his fist up in a 'let's do this' manner, showing full support for my task. Much appreciated, Mr.Kim."

Over about 15 minutes, Cossrow stood to the side, taking about 100 photos and videos of Kim helping customers, "never knowing which gestures or expression will best tell the story or capture the moment, the way the light captures the face, a movement of the hands, a twist of the body."

He explained, "In each of these moments, a bit of magic can happen with color and light that can bring a painting to life. I captured all the details of the signs, the vegetables, trees, trash, etc., every little piece that can help construct the story."

After that, the process continued in his studio, where he started dissecting this "glossary of visual information."

"This isn't 18th century France where I bring my easel out onto the street every day for two months to capture the scene, or hire a model to come into the studio to pose," he said. "I work from photos. There is never one photo that captures the story perfectly. I have to build it, like individual notes of a song. I take a bit from here and a bit from there, a special smile and a particularly good-looking carrot."

The painting began only after a lot of work in this composition stage. "Once the composition is packed with details and I feel the story is tight, I can begin the painting," he said. "I work in oil, beginning with a toned canvas and a line drawing, building up layer upon layer until the painting is vibrant."

It took two and a half weeks for him to reach a level of completion. "I worked on the painting for a few weeks, doing a couple hours each day," he said. "I don't kill myself with a 10-hour session. I prefer to do smaller sessions over a period of time ― base hits, not the home run."

After the painting was done, it was ready for the next stage in Cossrow's process: introducing it to the people pictured in it.

"I walked the canvas down to Bogwang-dong from the studio on a Friday," he said. "It was windy and the canvas kept catching the wind like a pirate sail, flying all over the place. The guys of Lucky Mart were unloading a bigass truck of heavy boxes of radish. I put the painting down along a tree and just waited for them to finish their work. A few of the guys stopped to look at the painting and immediately recognized Mr. Kim. He was inside dealing with some customers when they hollered at him to come check out the painting. They all got a kick out of it."

When Kim finally came out, Cossrow captured the reactions on video and got a picture of Kim posing with the painting, fist raised.

A man identified only by his surname Kim holds a painting of himself in front of Lucky Mart in central Seoul's Bogwang-dong, Oct. 20. Courtesy of Aaron Cossrow

Kim and his coworkers were provided with copies of the painting, with the original stowed away in Cossrow's studio.

"Bringing out the canvas to show the subject is one of the more enjoyable parts of the process," Cossrow said. "People see this random foreigner taking their picture so I'm sure they take my promise of a painting with a grain of salt."

Cossrow captured a piece of Seoul's disappearing fabric, as this part of Bogwang-dong is expected to disappear next year, as part of the massive Hannam New Town redevelopment project which is likely to erase the entire area's urban texture and dispel its existing community. "Bogwang-dong will fall victim to the incoming 'redevelopment' of the area beginning in 2024," he said. "Businesses and residents have already begun packing their bags."

Visit cossrow.com for more information about Cossrow, or follow @aaroncossrow on Instagram.