14"x11" oil/canvas
plein air
There is a very interesting landscape as you drive north out of Harrisburg, PA. this is a view from north front street....almost.......The scene from the top of canvas to about 3/4 's down is generally how it appears. The bottom 1/4 in reality is a McDonalds, lawyers offices and massive traffic at rush hour. I painted it plein air but couldn't allow myself to put in the traffic and McDonalds. I've always liked the cliffs up there and they remind of the scenery out west.....but to a much lesser degree. It's like a gateway to new topography. City to country. I opted for country and manipulated the foreground. This is always an issue for me. I spent many years painting out of my head... Good art therapy. But in the last decade I get an incredibly uncomfortable feeling when "making things up". I now have goals for each and every brushstroke and a non visual approach is quite difficult for me. The minds eye certaintly should be credible information. Right? Maybe it's time for more therapy...........
I will do a large piece of this scene with the traffic. I think it could be a strong dichotomy. McDonalds however, won't make it through editing.
5 comments:
I thought this painting was indeed the West. Kinda. It's beautiful; your half-truths are fully wonderful.
Hey, as long as Bill Wray is out there in LaLa Land doing his fabulous urban landscapes, complete with KFC and McD's, I figure the rest of us can pretend the Hudson Valley is as it always was. The perfect archetype!
Brian , I have come back to visit this painting many times. I love the colors and quietness of edge.mmmmm.
Hey Sam,Thank you. Bill is doing really nice stuff. I can't bare to put in golden arches no matter how obscure! All the signage kills the scene I want. Tried a few new positions tonight but it only got worse. More signs in the way and busses and tractor trailers. I think I'm destined for a backwoods cabin with nothing to do but survive and paint!
Hey Loriann, Thanks. I struggled through and was never quite sure on this one. I'm coming around to it. I'm planning a new big piece with this subjact in mind.
It might have been Robert Genn (or who knows) who recently said that "Artists are god." Fffft goes McD, the traffic etc. Go for it. There is no evidence I see n your paintings indicating any need for more therapy.
(Besides, painting is its own therapy... at least for me.)
Lovely work.
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