Thinking about Price's Chicken Coop!

It's lunch time in Charlotte and my mind is thinking about Price's Chicken Coop! This is a watercolor painting I did a few years ago of Price's during a rainy lunch time. 

Fellini's Pizza in Decatur!

Good friends and great patrons asked me to paint this scene from a foggy evening at Fellini's Pizza in Decatur Georgia. She took a great photo, which is helpful. Below for the 1st step I began with a white canvas. Then I painted transparent layers of paint for nine coats to create the black background. The layers were crimson, blue and green, three times each in order. So the background is not black, but many layers of color which make the surface look deep. 

 

For step two I added initial layers for the neon signs and spot lights. The "walk" sign was done in a series of color dots of paint. The shadows in the background and under the bush are the color of the canvass. 

For the final step I used several iridescent colors to make the metal parts shine. The main neon sign has many different colors to get the neon effect. The red areas are red, orange, yellow, and pink. Fun painting. Acrylicon canvas 11 x 14. 

Last two cityscapes in new Series

Just worked on this yesterday: Camp North End! I went by there for the Van Gogh exhibit, I could add more lights! 

Love being able to see the sky through the building; the Common Market in SouthEnd Charlotte. Such a cool building! 

Cityscape Mono-Prints New Series - 2 more complete

These cityscape sketches are just so fun for me. I finished two more! The one above is of Meredith Connelly's wonderful mushroom sculptures in the foreground and Camden Street in the background. Hacker's and Sullivan's restaurants in the far background. This is the time of day when everything is blue, just before its get really dark. 

The cityscape above is uptown Charlotte from South End. The building on the left is the former Phat Burrito now Flower Child! The Bee mural and umbrellas are nice! 

Urban Landscape Charlotte

For a landlocked city, Charlotte has fantastic colorful sunsets. I painted night urban landscapes for over a decade in Charlotte's South End historic district. Watercolor on paper. 

The Arlington Building casts the pink shadow seen above. Oil on canvas. 

Price's Chicken Coop in the rain. Watercolor on paper. 

Price's Chicken Coop at dusk. Oil on canvas. 

The trolley at dawn with a moon rise. Watercolor on paper. 

 

Cityscape Sketches done with Mono-printing Technique

 

Before I do almost any painting, I do a sketch. For my cityscape series I did the sketches as mono-prints. I used a photo, transferred the photo in high contracts black and white to sketch paper. Then I would do a layer or two of watercolor. Then I would finish the sketch with color pencil or pastel. 

The mono-print technique is very fast and allows for a great deal of spontaneity! Great fun! 

Southend Cityscapes and Charlotte Cityscapes

Since The Charlotte Business Journal published one of my fireworks paintings, I thought I would post a few more of my cityscapes from Charlotte. These are watercolor, oil and acrylic.