December 01st, 2017

A Kamloops Urban Scene, finished.

'My Favorite Corner' 3x5ft,  a Kamloops urban scene is finished other than waiting till it drys so I can adjust a few things.  I love doing commissions for many reasons, I love seeing happy clients, I love the challenge of composing a painting will all the elements the client wants in their painting and of course its a guaranteed sale!  The client I'm painting these 8 large paintings for has only given me one criteria, they have to be all about Kamloops which is fabulous because I have alot of creative freedom.
I was taking this photo and my client just happened to come out of his building and walked across the street, so (with permission) he became a part of this piece!
I'm asked how I paint reflective surfaces like these cars. My reply is, as simply as you can get away with. Reflective surfaces are really just a combination of coloured shapes like putting a puzzle together. The one skill that you do need is the ability to mix colours you see. I encourage all my students to get to know their tube colours, like a marriage spend lots of quality time with them.
Technical stuff: foreground shadow on the street had to be painted wet into wet to achieve the diffused light. I painted the darks first then went in to paint the light. Working back and forth  I adjusted values and softened edges. The sky gave me a little grief. I had the clouds quite distinct and obvious and it drew too much attention so I had a nape and then grabbed a 3 in. brush and swiped from left to right blurring the whole sky... bingo, the look I wanted!