New York City

New York City, 24 x 36"

As I did with "Eye Over London", in this painting I tried to create the illusion of a lot of detail without really using much. I wanted the design to be a bit more on the abstract side and simple so I used a larger brush for the majority of the painting, blocking in color and generally capturing the essence of New York City. New York is a bustling city, but I wanted to create a sense of calm as well as excitement. There is no sign of life in this picture, yet so many lives went into creating this great city. The difference in architecture shows the many years of life it has spanned.

I will come back to it in a couple days and decide then if it is finished. One fault that I have is not knowing for sure when I am done with a painting. I have ruined many a painting by overworking and reworking and eventually starting over. Now, as I am learning to do, I'm walking away....

Painting the Town and then Waiting for Paint to Dry

OK... so New York wasn't built in a day....

Here is the progress of my painting of NYC for Kevin & Jayne. So far I have spent two days on it, though several weeks in between. It is a 24 x 36" acrylic on canvas. Jayne didn't specify what size she wanted.... so hopefully this is not too big for her! It's what I wanted to work with, though, considering the detail.

With no one else in the house but the cats, I have time right now to paint this weekend... (as always, click images to enlarge).

First I sketched in the layout.

Next, I added in blocks of color.

MAYBE tomorrow I can finish it up... right now I have to feed the cats.

I Saw Myself Today

I saw myself today. Three little-ones in tow, one on each hand, one in a front carrier, all under the age of four. I smiled at myself as I allowed myself to pass by, across the busy parking lot, and smiled with a nod of "you understand" and a nod back of "I've been there". I watched myself with a lilt in my step as I headed inside for another adventure in grocery shopping with my babies, beaming that they were mine. I wondered to myself, "where was that lilt today?" as I had watched my youngest baby drive away, on an adventure of her own, to a new home far across the country. I looked in the rear-view mirror and I saw a single tear trying to find its way across the smile lines, worry lines, lines of every emotion all etched upon my face. I looked. I really looked... and I saw myself.