Almost there

These two images are of the final two paintings that I know I will have for the show. After this I hope to complete some smaller paintings if I have time.

The first is the start of an 11 x14 and is simple but should be good.

The second is a completed painting of the light well, the under painting shown in an earlier post.

How do I choose something to paint?

I have some new work to post but my camera needs charging.
The painting above is by the American painter Edward Hopper. It is a great example of a well composed painting in my opinion. It is very simple but has depth and captures ones interest.
When I pick a scene to paint, I look for contrast in light and shadow or compliments of color. A mix of line and detail combined with areas of color wash or gradient is also something that I look for.
If the scene doesn't have any of these then it probably won't work. When I go out scouting for things to paint I maybe get one in twenty images that are worth painting. I like to have my camera with me at all times because I never know when I will find just the right thing.

Put this in Perspective

There is nothing like a good, simple, bird's eye, one point perspective. This is the view down the light well at the back of the building where I work (my architecture job, not my painting studio).
I am a bit sick of painting the sky at the moment, so this will be a nice change.
While my initial idea here was mainly that I liked the light and patterns here but as I made this under painting, more things occured to me.
There is a lonely feeling to the space and the view could be that of a suicidal jumper. While I don't have any intention of being that jumper, I have looked at the space and imagined what a lonely place it would be to meet one's end.
Also, I used to be very afraid of heights. There is a funny feeling that you get when looking over a drop like this. Something seems to be pulling you. Yes gravity, but it becomes an almost supernatural force which becons you to take flight.
That didn't sound good. Mom, don't worry, I am not going to jump.

The Big One

This is the biggest one so far. At 40" x 60" it was a heck of a piece of canvas (for me anyway).

I chose the Freemont bridge for the piece. The idea is that the water, bridge and sky are vast and the large size of the piece emphasizes this.

I think that the water was the hard part. There is a lot of it. At first, the water was a lot lighter, but I darkened the rough water areas and added extra yellow for the bridge reflections. I am happy with how this turned out but I will keep looking at it and see if it needs something more.

Waiting

I almost bailed out on this one. It was getting very burnt looking from the dark tones and I was not happy. I went back at it with a dark violet glaze in the dark areas.

The orange brick is an exaggeration of the actual brick color and works as the complement of the dark violet.

If I did this one again, I would focus in on the ladies waiting. What I find interesting in the image is the warm morning light and the Portlanders enjoying a read while waiting for their bus.