This was the view from our hotel window last summer in Vancouver, we were probably on the 6th or 7th floor, I can’t remember exactly. Sorry about the glare, it’s been overcast for a couple of days and today it rained all day, so I took this inside with a flash. This is a different type of painting for me, different from the barns and countrysides I’ve been painting. But I’ve been thinking about painting this particular scene since I took the photos in August.
In reality the man in the painting had on a dark blue shirt, which I changed to white so it would draw attention to the man, the focal point. Also, the dark blue shirt would have blended in with his jeans and his dark hair. First I changed the shirt to yellow, but wiped that off and decided it should be bright sunlit white.
I like painting this birds-eye view. I’m not sure how difficult it would be here in Houston to get more reference photos from this high vantage point. I’m sure I could find many places if I took the time to search them out.
But meanwhile, I’ve got another barn in progress. And I’m going to paint the “House across a field” on a larger canvas. Okay, I might have gotten a bit carried away. I went to Texas Art Supply and bought a 30″x40″ canvas, and while I was there, I thought “Hmm, maybe this painting could be even bigger” so I bought a 36″x48″ canvas. Actually, two. Of each. I do have the drawing done on the 36″x48″ canvas so I’m well on my way to getting that one finished. And I have a plan (in my mind) for the second large canvas, a beautiful blue barn viewed through trees. It looks good in my mind, now I just need to translate that to the canvas. That’s always the challenge!
Morning newspaper is 24″x30″ oil on linen