Bren Bataclan poses with one of his paintings.
(Photo courtesy of the artist.)

RALEIGH – Bren Bataclan, the Boston-based artist who gives paintings away, is back in Raleigh and is leaving paintings around town today.

Bataclan leaves the paintings in public places and they are free for the taking for whoever stumbles upon them. It's all part of a campaign to make people happy by giving away whimsical works of art, the artist has said.

“A dozen acorn paintings will given away all over Raleigh today,” Bataclan said this morning via Twitter. By 1 p.m., he already had left two – one in front of the Sono sushi restaurant in downtown Raleigh and the other on the R line, the shuttle that circles downtown Raleigh.

Bataclan's giveaways are part of Raleigh First Night activities (for more, click here). He has become a worldwide celebrity since starting his Project Smile in 2002. Bataclan has left his art throughout the United States and in more than 30 foreign countries, according to his web site.

In an interview in September with the Harvard Crimson, Bataclan explained his motivation: “I went to graduate school in the Midwest and when I came here I expected hyper-warmth and I didn’t feel it,” he said. “But then I saw people smiling at my work, and thought giving people my paintings was a way to make them smile. And then I get more smiles too.”

Bataclan’s paintings tend to be simple, brightly colored depictions of big-eyed, funny-faced people and animals. You can be sure they are his work because they will be marked with this message: “Everything will be all right – this painting is yours to take for free.”

As a full-time artist, prices for his work range from $95 to $3,000, according to a story by CBS News. Bataclan does not leave his more expensive works for free, however.

You can follow Bataclan’s activities in Raleigh via his Twitter site.