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.

Street Light

This is finished version of a painting that I started. I just completed it this weekend and may do some more work on it, but then again...I like the quiet feel of the thing.

The color is very sepia toned and the orange foliage pops pretty well. As I look at the small image here, it looks fairly realistic. If you click the image and get a closer look you will see the more painterly bits (as usual, I still don't have the ability to get the photo to work, which may be a good thing. Please see the real thing).

Overall, the painting does what I wanted it to do.

Street Light

In the winter we don't get a lot of sun. When it does come out it is good to get out and absorb as much as you can. You have to become a kind of sun camel to live here.

This is a quite moment and the light was just beaming through the trees. I like the graphic quality of the trees and the one point perspective is always nice. Getting down on the street is a nice change and this is the first of four that are more down to earth.