Ride to Work

Ride to Work - oil on canvas 18 x 14"

This painting sprang to life last week.  I was feeling out of ideas of what to paint.  When that happens, I like to go digging in the many folders that contain my own photo resource collection.  I'm not a great photographer, but I can aim and click like the best of them when a light pattern or atmosphere inspires me.  The morning light spoke to me in this one.

original photo, and line sketch for painting

I am a lazy painter. I do not love drawing. I love to paint. BUT, when there is a lot of architectural stuff I do need a guide before I get all excited and lay in the paint.  I cheat.  Yes! I use tracing paper and a sharpie, but I try and keep my copy looser than the actual photo. Basically I grab the main lines and do a quick value sketch.

I stained my canvas with a thin mix of vermilion. Up-scaling the  line sketch with thin alizarin paint onto the canvas (ssshhh, dont tell anyone but I use a light box to do this, because as I said before, I'm impatient, I dont like wasting time drawing, somehow it kills my passion to get to the painting).  

yay! almost painting... but first I'm going to choose my palette.  I mostly choose lively high key pigments... two reasons, I want a light mood to my painting, and I want to play around with colours that I'm less familiar with so I feel like I'm learning something as I go. Learning = more fun!
Here they are:  warm white, indian yellow, cad orange, violet, cobalt teal, cobalt blue, vandyke brown.  I know, I know! wierd, eh?  ha ha.

Blocking in the darker values and lighter values, sets up a push pull kind of thing right from the start.  I like this push- pull, it's what artists refer to as 'a dialogue'.  For me it's the most fun part, because it allows the freedom for interpretation and individuality.  The vermilion creates a nice base for the other colours, as it seems to harmonize them as it glows through the thin paint. 

I begin to analyze the painting...  Here, I felt it might be more interesting with the addition of some life. Like what, I hear you ask.  Maybe a dog walker? Some birds? A pedestrian?  I decide maybe a student on a bicycle...after all, this neighborhood is close to the university, and I'm into bicycles lately. ha ha.

This one is 18 x 14 inches on canvas.