Day 22 - "Passing the Tower"

I mentioned the other day that I sometimes get inspiration from the Morguefile, an online free file sharing website.  Well, I also love to use Google street view to wander the globe and see places that I otherwise may never get to see.  This inspires me so often and I have painted many pictures from scenes I have found in street view... Prague, Ireland, Idaho and Paris are just a few of the most beautiful areas of the world, at least on street view anyway.  So, this scene  which I found while 'wandering' around Paris, inspired me because, one, this view of the tower is just impeccably perfect, and two, the young man on the bike in the foreground presented a nice mystery.... What exactly is his story?  It made me wonder "where is he was going?"  Maybe university?  A quiet cafe to meet a secret rendezvous? Maybe he's a delivery guy delivering important documents.  Maybe he's on his way to visit grandma.  Who knows?   Anyway, I liked the mystery this scene presented and I also loved the composition when I cropped it to fit one of my narrow panel left-overs.

Passing the Tower, oil, 4"x18"
to purchase please click here

Day 3 - Biker on Penn Street

Whew... I got this one done by the skin of my teeth.  And in reality, I still probably have some tweaking to do on it.  I could lie and say I don't know what I was thinking when I chose to do a 16" x 20" painting today.  But, I do know.  I really like painting big, and yesterday's 6"x6" was frustrating using such small brushes... Plus, I need to learn how to paint bigger, faster...
Anyway, another experiment.  I painted on a gold ground today (not metallic, but yellow-gold), which was a first for me.  This was a picture I took the same day I took the reference pic for day 2's picture. Was sitting at a traffic light and there was this biker guy waiting for the light also.  Snapped the pic and off we went in opposite directions... I liked the challenge of the image because there was soooo much red in the picture.  I wanted to paint it with all that red, and still make it engaging... Hopefully it is!

Biker on Penn St., oil, 16" x 20",  to purchase this painting, please click here

Day 2 of September 30 in 30 - Crossing Penn St. Bridge

One of the hardest aspects of being is an artist is... shifting gears.   Today, I worked on Art Plus Gallery's website, typed up the minutes of last nights member meeting and put a final coat of poly urethane on a commission that is almost ready for delivery.... And then, I had to get into the studio to paint today's painting.  How to change the brain to get into painting mode?  Some days work better than others. Today was a challenge..... But....
I live near this small city, Reading, PA.  Back when my Grandmother was young (in the 30's), Reading was the place to go... shopping, dancing, working... but through the 20th century, it suffered the fate of many small towns across the U.S.  It fell to the wayside and started becoming a not so great place to go anymore.  But... in the past 10 years or so, Reading is making a comeback... the art scene is huge (and growing fast!)  and great things are happening every day.  This is just one scene of Reading, (with it's iconic Pagoda Peeking in the distance) that I see on a regular basis and it beckons me to paint it, every time I see it from just this spot.  I had my camera with me the other day, and (yes, it's true) I was snapping pictures of this as I passed over Penn Street Bridge. I promise, I was paying attention to the road...

If you would like to purchase this painting, please visit my Daily Paintworks site here  

Thanks for looking!

Crossing Penn Street Bridge, oil on panel, 6" x 6", click here to bid

Day 19 - Lady in Blue

Good Evening... Short and sweet tonight. Today's painting is of a young metropolitan woman walking confidently through the streets of Paris, France.  Found this little scene using street view again.   Love that.  Was intrigued by this nameless woman who seems like she is off to somewhere important.  Hope her day turned out good, whenever that may have been!

Lady in Blue, oil on panel, 6"x6"
to purchase, please click here

Day 8 - Winter Street in China town

I decided to challenge myself with a more complex composition today... and just finished!  Still have an hour to spare.... I am really enjoying this challenge and am learning a lot about my process... also learning how to leave things alone and not mess around too much with the paint.  It also makes me consider each brush stroke and the color and value of paint I am applying more carefully too.  Well, this one is from a picture I took in Chinatown, Philadelphia over the summer.  I was interested in the building in the background and repeating shapes.  I also enjoyed painting the two figures as it is not often that I include a figure in my paintings. I must do this more.

Winter Street in Chinatown, oil on panel, 9" x 12"
to purchase this painting, please click here

Day 6 of the 30 in 30!

Today I took part in a local art fair and had a blast.  I love small fairs like this because to me, this is "keeping it real" as it were...  Anyway, I started a painting, but didn't quite finish it, so I am posting a painting that I completed last week, which is kind of cheating,. but, well, Who cares!!!  This is a night time, city-scape, which is very different for me,. but alas, I love it... and want to paint more night scenes from inner cities!  I love the contrasting purples and yellows and the interesting glow from the unnatural lighting.  Hope you enjoy, and if you are interested in this one, it is currently hanging in Art Plus Gallery in
West Reading.  Thanks always for looking!

Domo, 6"x6", oil on panel, $85.00