Thursday, November 22, 2007

6th Street Bridge


This new piece is another moderately large one, it is 30 x 30 inches, oil on canvas. I actually crawled down the steep concrete basin to the bottom and walked a couple of miles along the L.A. River (in the rain) to shoot some photos a while back. Prepared to risk life and limb for my art, I almost slid on some gravel and toppled down to my imminent demise. But fortunately I lived to tell the tale and finish this painting, unscathed.
This view is a rather iconic angle of the old art deco era bridge, I loved seeing that dark underbelly, plus the reflections in the murky water. I decided to keep the color rather simple, emphasizing the dramatic contrasts. There's alot of thick paint on there, but other areas I kept washy and thin. The canvas was begun with gray gesso, a technique that allowed me to better judge appropriate values. At the drawing stage, I had to find my vanishing point and more accurately depict what the camera lens tends to bend. I'm very pleased with the finish here, it's one of those pieces that I've long wanted to paint.