Friday, September 24, 2010
I completed Independence Hall before leaving town
Continuing in the sequence of painting Cityscapes, I decided to tackle (again) the difficult subject of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. I tried to paint it once before, straight on, and the result was horrid. It is really a tough subject to make into an interesting composition - it is fairly small, and is plunked into the middle of the city. From the park in its frontal view it is lost in tree foliage. From the back, it is up against Chestnut Street with big office/apartment buildings around it. Also, with it's distinctive tower, it is as tall as it is wide and so is difficult to create an interesting pictorial composition.
This time I approached it from the rear, which faces Chestnut Street and is the way most people see it anyway. But then I skewed the Hall, broke all the "rules" on perspective, painted it from an impossible angle, and kept in place those background buildings that tend to overpower the structure, using them to provide a protective frame and halo for it.
I like what I got from it:
Otherwise, the news is that next week I am returning to China to stay with my son and granddaughter in Beijing for two months. In addition to just getting in the way around the house, I expect to continue my exploration of the contemporary Chinese art scene at least as it pertains to oil painting, and do some painting of my own. Perhaps some Chinese cityscapes to add to my portfolio, and some interesting portraits. I'll keep up my blog if I can, but I think China blocks out blogspot and that could be a big problem.
The crazy thing is that I will have two paintings in an exhibition at the Plastic Club while I am gone - View of a Thousand Windows and Elfreth's Alley (see previous blog) - and the whole thing will have come and gone while I am in China. I won't get to see how they show in the context of the exhibition. In the same way, I might have another painting at Off the Wall Gallery while I'm gone. So it goes.
Anyway - the best way to contact me during October and November will be by email: leroyforney@gmail.com.
This time I approached it from the rear, which faces Chestnut Street and is the way most people see it anyway. But then I skewed the Hall, broke all the "rules" on perspective, painted it from an impossible angle, and kept in place those background buildings that tend to overpower the structure, using them to provide a protective frame and halo for it.
I like what I got from it:
Otherwise, the news is that next week I am returning to China to stay with my son and granddaughter in Beijing for two months. In addition to just getting in the way around the house, I expect to continue my exploration of the contemporary Chinese art scene at least as it pertains to oil painting, and do some painting of my own. Perhaps some Chinese cityscapes to add to my portfolio, and some interesting portraits. I'll keep up my blog if I can, but I think China blocks out blogspot and that could be a big problem.
The crazy thing is that I will have two paintings in an exhibition at the Plastic Club while I am gone - View of a Thousand Windows and Elfreth's Alley (see previous blog) - and the whole thing will have come and gone while I am in China. I won't get to see how they show in the context of the exhibition. In the same way, I might have another painting at Off the Wall Gallery while I'm gone. So it goes.
Anyway - the best way to contact me during October and November will be by email: leroyforney@gmail.com.
