A Painting in Progress

"Under the Arch, Washington Square" 14x11 oil on panel
(in progress)

     Obviously, this is not going to be a daily blog.  I really thought it would be and for a while there I was doing pretty well.  I knew better than to make a New Years resolution for it to be.  So, judging from the dates, this is shaping up to be a weekly blog, at least for the time being.  I do my blogging in the evening and of late I have had a lot of other work to do at night. This is fun the rest of the stuff is work and you know how that works priority wise. 

     I am, however, painting everyday.  I have come pretty far with this piece which I had planned on posting from the beginning.  Tomorrow I want to add some figures and then I shall put it away for a couple of days before passing verdict on it.  This photo was taken under studio lights and the result is a slightly grayed image.  I am going for very saturated colors and I hope the next photo I post of this will bring that across better. 
       If you have been reading this post then you might recognize the scene up 5th Avenue seen through the arch.  I did a painting in the fall (5th and Waverly) that was the view up 5th Avenue after passing under the arch.  There is a bicyclist in that painting heading up the Avenue.  She is on the right side of the foreground and I think it would be fun to paint her into this painting just heading under the arch.  I may put in another figure or two but I haven't decided yet.  I really don't want to put a larger figure in the foreground of this painting and I hope the dark shadow will give enough weight to that area.  I'll have to see after I add the other figures.

      What's next?  Well, I would like to do an enlarged, studio version of the plein air painting I did at the Outer Banks on December 30th and I would also like to do a DC street scene.  I have been working on a sketch for one along Constitution Avenue.  I would like to be working on both at the same time.  Why?  Because I will probably get stuck on the DC painting and the Outer Banks painting will be more familiar territory for me.  Cityscapes are a new venture and I know I will have more success with them if I can spend more time painting on site.  Once this busy period in my life is more under control I plan to be spending some time in DC doing just that!
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