Washington DC

Three new paintings – 6″x 8″ each ($250 per painting) – of DC monuments and cherry blossoms.  I really began to enjoy landscape painting when I discovered I could do it in my abstract style.  I love working in this size because it is small and feels so intimate and I move the oil paint around in a slower pace.

I started by finding some stock photography (non-copyrighted images) of DC monuments and I did change the compositions of each to create my paintings.  I deleted some parts of the photos that were not interesting to me and changed most of the colors because I wanted to use colors that are bright and more varied (government buildings are a bit drab in color).  On the first round, I drew my composition (in paint) and blocked out colors.  After they dried for a few days (oil paint dries in a few days with medium), I  deepened the blue skies, added shades of pink to the cherry blossoms, and checked my color balance over the entire painting.  On the second round, I spent less time on composition and more time on color.  I thought about what direction the sky was moving and painted that, I thought about the buildings in relation to the sky and painted that.  My style is abstract and in these paintings, I borrowed from cubism (large blocks of color and not a lot of detail) and added whimsy/playfulness/adventure to illustrate the optimism I feel about my work.

I paint with Sable brushes (from Blick–masterstroke finest red sable) because they glide softly and effortlessly over the canvas.  They are soft to the touch and I like that, too, even though it might not make a huge difference in my paintings.  The medium I have used for years is Winsor & Newton Liquin Original because it helps the paint dry faster (extra important with slow drying colors like black).  I also like the bit of shine it adds.  As for oil paint, the same color in different brands can look different, so I use several brands (Blick, Rembrandt, Holbein, and Sennelier).