Last Night

In a whiskey fueled session last night, I made some progress on the final painting in the Marysville series. The blue green adn violet colors make me think of comic books from the 1980's. I like the way the colors are working here.
The reflections are working pretty well.
I was surprised how long it was taking me to paint this one. There is quite a bit of detail here, even though it looks relatively simple. I was working at night and was probably more tired than usual, which may have made the time it feel longer than it was.
The tree highlight, sky and stuff through the windows is next and probably should be the last of it. I need to wait a week to let this layer dry.
Oh, how I want to be done with this series! Almost there...

Fine tuned

I was looking at this one for a while. The lack of shadows makes it difficult to give depth.
The back of the electrical panel box can been seen in the images that I was using for reference.
The wires are darker in reality. Reality was not cutting it for me.



This weekend I wne t back and darkened (almost black) the panel box and lightend the switch panel. This does give more depth to the painting. This is an example where I needed to take some artistic license.
While this is still a different sort of subject, and perhaps a misfit, I think it portrays a kind of dark quality, which contrasts with some of the other paintings in the series and can add some balance. We will see how it plays in front of a crowd.

Sketchbook

There is a great roof top patio at the building where I have my day job. It is a great place to clear the mind.
I have many sketch books from over the years. I have never been as anal as some architects in keeping a sketchbook, but do like to put down some thoughts.
The sketches above represent a 20 minute coffee break on the roof.

The progress on the Marysville series is dragging on too long. I need to get them finished. Stay tuned.

Marysville 5 Starts

My painting sessions on the weekend tend to start fairly mellow but end in a frenzy. I usually realize that I have been painting for hours and that the kids are freaking out as is my lovely wife, who has been dealing with the kids.

I was feeling kind of woozy after this session. It was probably the combination of thinner fumes and low energy.

There was a lot of layout involved with this painting because getting the perspective tight was critical. The reflections were a challenge as well. I did the layout with a light pencil, the underpainting with my usual gray mix and white. I have spent six to eight hours on this to get it to this point.

More Marysville 4

Hmmm, I like it, I don't like it, I like it...

I think that this gets the idea across for what I was hoping for. Or not.

It is kind of flat don't you think?

The lack of shadows does not help the flatness. A shadow line in the box would help.

The light switch is my favorite part, which is funny.

I set out to finish the thing last night and I did. So there.

This one can sit while I finish the last Marysville scene.