NoLita Water Tank - painting in progress

NoLita Water Tank, painting in progress - acrylic on canvas, 36x48


I have a few water tank paintings in progress right now. This is the one I've been working on the most. Today I worked on bringing out the contrasts and colors in the sky and then adding browns, reds, oranges and yellows to the buildings and water tank. There are still some color harmonies I need to adjust but I'm happy with how it's coming along so far. This image is set in the NoLita neighborhood in New York City, but could really be anywhere in an urban environment.

water tank - charcoal on canvas - work in progress

I started this new piece today. It's large-scale -- 36x48 canvas. A color wash was applied first, then the sketch done in charcoal. It's how I've been starting cityscape paintings lately, but this one is really looking like a finished piece. However, eventually I'll add the layers of paint.

This image is based on a photo I took on Spring St. near SoHo in New York City. It will be hanging in my studio along side finished paintings next week at the Cornelia Arts Building Open House.

 
water tank - charcoal on canvas - work in progress

A new painting in progress: NoLita (NYC) - water tank

I started this painting today - it's large: 36x48. Based on a photograph I took this past December in NoLita (North of Little Italy) in New York City, I shot it while walking around the neighborhood after great slice of New York thin crust pizza from Pomodoro Pizza at Spring and Mulberry. I tend to hit this place each time I'm in NYC. It has big windows and is a great place to re-fuel and people watch.

I used a sketch of the photo as reference to start this piece. I began by laying an initial wash of paint on the canvas and then sketched the composition with charcoal. It's nice to work big this way and I'm hoping to keep this one loose and expressive with some really bold color.

NoLita (NYC), work in progress

Snow day!

Lots of snow coming down this afternoon, and after 7 days straight in the studio, today I'm taking a day off. Gotta refresh -- plus, I need to work on some office and business projects.

I'm now about halfway done with my West Loop commission painting. More layers, some colors changes and details to be added. I'm looking forward to having the collectors come for a studio visit next week so they can see where it's at in person.

West Loop Skyline - painting in progress

The start of the West Loop Cityscape commission painting

A long and productive studio day - forging ahead with the commission painting...


Today, I painted over the charcoal sketch outlines in order to keep the composition as close to what I initially envisioned. If you look close, you can see that I also added the Lake Street El Train in front of the old grain silos just to the left of center. I also added a little color to add depth and to start playing with ideas for color scheme.

New Commission Painting

Happy New Year! Looking forward to what 2012 brings...

So far, the art projects are falling into place: a couple of sales, a commission painting as well as a potential art reproduction project for a hotel.

I've started working on some sketches for the commission painting. The collectors live in the West Loop area of Chicago and requested a cityscape featuring rooftop water tanks. Below are the initial sketches done with charcoal and graphite on paper, along with some photos I shot for inspiration and compositional ideas.

Sketches:



Photo references:

 


A couple of water tank paintings in progress

Continuing my series of water tank paintings with these two works in progress. They're at the beginning stages, building up the layers quickly and trying to keep them loose.

I'm inspired by my recent trip to New York where I took a lot of photographs of water tanks in SoHo, The Village and the Lower East Side. In the past month, I have also done some Chicago walkabouts, taking photos of water tanks and architecture in River North and the Loop to provide some inspiration.

Chelsea - NYC painting in progress

Worked some more layers into this painting the last few days. Definitely more to go, but I'm liking the color palate and the looser feel.

Previously, I haven't incorporated many fire escapes into my paintings, but I'm liking it so far. It brings a more urban feel to the composition, creating strong diagonal shapes that lead your eye across the canvas.