Saturday, November 5, 2011

Chicago water taxi


Here is the painting I am currently working on. It is a view of the water taxi on the Chicago River coming out from under the Lake Street Bridge. This is a view I see everyday on my way home from work. I was inspired to paint this because I love the bright yellow and how it casts a reflection into the water. I also love the way the water splashes up as the boat moves and glistens in the sunlight. Chicago bridges and the old towers are so interesting to me, so I wanted to include that in the painting as well.

The colors are blocked in and I am starting to put in more details. I have been struggling a bit on what to do with the background. Not sure if I want to keep it simple or get more detailed? I am leaning more toward simple shapes because I dont want it to detract from the boat which is my center of interest. Thru trial and error this painting is beginning to take form. Hopefully it will turn out well. If it doesn't, I learned something from it.



I refined the boat and added waves around it to make it look like it was moving. I felt that the vertical lines on the building were taking my eye off the canvas. My solution was to break them up a bit as if there were patches of sunlight hitting the building.


I will probably add a few more touches to the boat but for the most part I am happy with it.


Today I worked on the concrete lamp post to the left of the painting. I want the viewers eye to focus on the boat which is the center of interest. Therefore, I darkened the lamp post as it was to light.

18"x24" acrylic on gallery canvas

I think I am going to call this one done. I added more details into the bridge and tower. The building was looking a bit to abstract for my liking, so I decided to suggest a few windows. A tree was added to the right, to soften the CTA portion of the bridge.

As I was walking past the tower this week I noticed a historical marker with the engraved date 1916. The Lake St. Bridge is one of two movable bridges in Chicago that carry both a CTA train above and 4 lanes of Car traffic below. I find these structures very interesting and I look forward to painting another in the future.

18 comments:

  1. Brad, tiene muy buena pinta. A mi también me suele preocupar el fondo y cómo influirá en lo que quiero resaltar. Otros compañeros piensan que no es importante, pero yo pienso que todo cambio, por pequeño que sea, afecta al total de la obra.
    Saludos desde España.

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  2. Thank you Margarita! I would agree about the smallest thing can through off the painting. I am also worried about overworking it.

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  3. This is wonderful! The colors and the reflections create such a warm, friendly mood. Very nicely done!

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  4. I love it, Brad! The reflections in the water is beautiful and so well painted! love the warm colors as well!!

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  5. Looks like a challenging composition. Are you working from memory or a photo? You've got the late-day light going on in this. Let us see the final result.

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  6. Thank you! It is warm and friendly. Especially because I took it while going home for the day:) It has been challenging. I am working from a photo that I took, but I am being a bit creative with the composition and the lighting.

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  7. Wow! That's coming along nicely. Lovely warmth in it. I visited Chicago a few years ago. Amazing city. I just loved it. You've got lots of inspiration all around you!
    Happy Painting,
    Nora

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  8. Thank you Nora! Other than the cold and windy winters its great. I love Chicago. Seeing that your from Toronto I am guessing that your winter months are much worse than mine? I bet it gets cold.

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  9. So beautiful Brad. Love the whole scene. You take me there.

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  10. Hello Brad!
    Your art work is really fantastic!!!
    Congratulations from Spain
    M.B

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  11. Thank you Angela and Muñoz! I really appreciate the comments. I am hoping to finish the painting this weekend. Stay tuned.

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  12. I've been seeing this on your FB posts and am looking forward to more. I love the little taxi, standing out so well amid all the other 'towers' of color...wonderful!

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  13. Thank you Mary! I am happy with the way this one is turning out. It has been fun to paint.

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  14. Really wonderful painting. Just love all the colors and the reflections are perfect! Looks just plain fun and that you enjoyed the process!

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  15. Brad, qué bien lo has resuelto. Creo que has encontrado el equilibrio justo, que has expresado muy bien la profundidad a través de los diferentes planos. Muy buena la solución del árbol que además aporta un toque de naturaleza en medio del metal de barco, puente y agua.
    Ahora, a esperar tu siguiente trabajo.

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  16. Thank you Margarita! I always look forward to your comments. I appreciate your feedback.

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  17. I've enjoyed seeing your process on this and it's excellent! I have a hard time with creating very straight edges that don't grab too much attention, but here you've kept every eye on that yellow taxi and the rest are supporting characters-super.

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  18. Thank you Mary! I appreciate that. Thank you for watching the progress!

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