West Market Street

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One of the most dramatic night scenes in downtown Indianapolis is the view looking west on Market Street.  The Indiana State Capitol building is lit up.  It is glowing white against the dark sky.

I’ve painted it white. I’ve tried to give the feeling of the spotlights on it by showing lighter blue streaks in the sky. Meanwhile, the buildings on either side are dark, giving a strong contrast. I’ve used linear and atmospheric perspective to give the feeling of looking down a street. The street goes from wide to narrow. The street lights are closer in the front, then smaller as they move to the rear. The same is true of the cars parked on the side of the road.

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Rosie’s Roses

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My wife always tries to get me to paint still life paintings. She loves flowers. I guess I’m just a guy – I really don’t think much about them. When she wants me to do them I have her come up with the layout. I tell her to decide what I’ll paint. Then I do it.

I am a believer in making the layout interesting. You will notice that the vase is not in the center of the painting, and the flowers are not, either. I like to paint large enough that the subject matter flows off the canvas. This vase  was a pottery project in my daughter’s high school pottery class. The glaze didn’t work very well, but I love how it turned out. You can see the direction the light comes. It hits the vase in the front, and can be seen on the edges of the rose petals as well. I have tried to portray shadow and light in the leaves. This is done with different color tones and values. The background is a white tablecloth. The folds are shown with blue shadows. What more can I say? My wife likes the painting.

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Sidewalk Cafe Gamla Stan

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One of the most exciting places I’ve been is Gamla Stan, the old town section in Stockholm, Sweden. There are narrow walkways through five and six story buildings with quaint shops and restaurants. The royal palace is there, as well as the location where the Nobel Peace Prize is given. I have always loved the European sidewalk cafes. This one is right next to where the cruise ships dock and the tourists unload.

These tables were out in the sun. I was so impressed by the backlighting on the people that I wanted to portray it. The light made a halo effect on their hair and the edges of their clothing. There is an interesting effect if you look at the shirt of the standing woman. The sunlight makes a whitish-yellow edge, while the part in the shadow picks up the color of the sky. The same thing happens if you wear a white tee shirt and stand in the sun. The shadow side of anything white in the painting has the blue of the sky. The light in the man’s glasses and the shade of the background gives the effect of a very bright, sunny day.

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Canoe

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I’ve always loved taking my son canoeing. We’ve paddled in lakes and rivers from coast to coast. A favorite location is on the Green River in Mammoth Cave National Park. This is a portrayal of us as we drifted downstream.

You will notice the atmospheric perspective with the trees closer to the viewer. They are darker and greener giving the impression of shade. They also appear nearer to the viewer than the canoe. They are more defined than the trees on the other bank – there is no definition of them, and they are very light. On the right side of the painting the riverbank is showing. You can see reflections in the water. The canoe can be seen from the back. My back is showing and you can see my life jacket, while son’s head is seen above. The paddle is sticking out to the side.

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Snowy Woods

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Yesterday was the first major snowfall in the Indianapolis area this year. In honor of the occasion, I want to tell you about this painting.

I had taken my wife to Bloomington North High School where she accompanied a singer at a music festival. It had snowed heavily, and the car slid all over the road. On the way home we took a back road. Off to the side, I saw this beautiful red barn back in the woods. It was gorgeous with the snow and dark trees around it.

You will notice that the snow isn’t all the same color. It is darker up front because it is in a shadow. I have used atmospheric perspective – trees are painted in front of the barn to give it a feeling of depth. I was able to put the barn and the snow in, but I struggled with the woods in the background behind and above the barn. My wife suggested I paint in a small section at a time – between trees. I tried that. It helped me to not be overwhelmed by what I needed to do. I wanted to give the feeling of snow in the branches and the frosty air. I didn’t quite know how to make the air look cold, so I used a cool color – blue, to create that atmosphere.

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Flora Blanca

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When my son got his master’s degree at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, my wife and I were able to accompany him to the home of the president of the University. There was an open house for all the graduates and their parents. I was very impressed with the home, and especially the yard. Flowers were blossoming everywhere. Their scent perfumed the air. I was especially impressed with the blossoming dogwood trees as they were silhouetted against the late afternoon sun.

I had to try to recreate the magic of the blossoms. You can see the direction of the sunlight that hit the petals. It comes from the left side of the painting. There is a brilliant yellow white. The shadow side is blue and violet. You see the sun and shadow on the leaf, and the dark background gives the scene a dramatic contrast.

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Closing Late

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I had been at an art opening in Rising Sun, Indiana. It is a scenic little town on the shores of the Ohio River near Cincinnati. The show was over and my son and I were taking things across the street to my car. It had been raining. As we turned around and looked at the buildings, we were blown away by the beautiful reflections in the street! I knew I had to paint that scene.

The bright store front and street lights make yellow and white reflections. The reflections on the side of the building are strictly from the light coming out of the windows. Another interesting note is that you don’t see the top of the building on the side. The sky and the building are both dark, so all that is seen are the windows. Your mind puts in the roof line even though it isn’t visible. The lone car is waiting for someone to close up shop and to take it home.

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Piazza of San Marco

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This painting is in Venice. I have tried to give it depth by using atmospheric perspective – the people who are closer are larger, the ones further away  are painted smaller. The closer ones have more detail than the ones further back. I wanted to make it look like it is raining. Notice all the umbrellas. You see reflections on the ground so you’ll know it is wet. Another thing I did to add interest was to have the vendor wear yellow and include a child who is talking to him. Of course one of the main things to look at is the cathedral with it’s domes.

I included pigeons on the ground because It reminded me of my grandson. He chased pigeons at public squares in Madrid, Paris, Rome, London, and many other locations. He was about six years old. He would see them, then run as fast as he could, making them scatter.

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