Wednesday, September 8, 2010

bittersweet sunset off Chain Bridge

8x8 pastel and watercolor on Uart
Last night, on my return trip from Dr. Joe, I decided to park by the bridge and battle the rush hour on the bridge. Chain bridge is one of the main  commuter connections between DC and Virginia. Yes, there is a sidewalk, the problem being is - the sidewalk is widely used by cyclists as a commuter route...making it a  very small space. The goal was to only paint what was necessary. Unlike Chinese landscape painters, the creation of a very specific light is my goal. This is the time before sunset, a slightly bittersweet time.  Attention to edge, neutral colors and large shapes reading from afar were my other goals.

6 comments:

C Tanner Jensen said...

Absolutely beautiful.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Your painting looks tranquil, not at all like the traffic-crowded scene you describe. You captured that dreamy time of day when objects lose their sharp focus and things link up in magical ways.

The only thing that distracts is the repetition of the dark hill with land jutting into the water and the edge of the light colored water into the grasses.

Do you have a bumper sticker warning other commuters that "I BRAKE FOR VISTAS"?

Nika said...

Great success, I think. Texture and color is superb, the light is there and I like the shapes. Painting under pressure while stressful, often "distills" ones painting process and can be cleansing:)

SamArtDog said...

Simple and deceptively calm.

Haha--good one, Kvan!

loriann signori said...

Thank you C Tanner Jensen! It may grow bigger in the studio.

Hi Katherine, I like your idea...a bumper sticker. Sometimes I think painters can be the worst drivers, always looking at the light and how it is doing its magic....pure danger!

Hi Nika, you are so right that we need to distill when in these odd, pressure situations. Thank you for your kind words!

Hey Sam! Deceptively calm...hmmmm another good one.

Sarah said...

wonderful, i would never imagine that behind this scene there is a whole load of traffic and cyclists as from this view it looks so calm and quiet, untouched!