Thursday, March 14, 2013

Library "Study"?

Woodstock Library from the Lawn
 Our neighborhood (Woodstock) Library is a modern icon. When I decided to paint it, I was concerned that the art of the architecture would overtake the art of the painting.  It has a lot of very nice designs (not visible here) that are etched into the panels along the front.  I'm drawn to certain buildings, usually older ones because of the historical value they hold.  I wanted to paint something important in the neighborhood for our local organization Southeast Uplift.  Since the Lutz Tavern is not exactly an acceptable representation of a neighborhood...I really like how that one came out, though.
The Library was rebuilt in....2000 I believe, and even though the new building itself has a short history, the Library history is there.
This was intended to be a loose rendering of the building but as I progressed through, I had to tighten the lines a little.  I wanted to include a library goer in the final painting, and this would be from an angle looking opposite this, but I was pleasantly surprised how this one came out. I spent considerably more time on this than I originally planned, trying to work out the reflections in the windows, the grass in front and the trees that are beginning to bud.  I still plan on painting the nice lady that I photographed in my reference photo.  She asked to remain anonymous, so I won't mention her name when I paint her.  Anyway, I think this painting came out better than I thought it would, so I might just choose this one to submit if the next one doesn't work.  Sometimes the study offers more interest to the viewer.  I will have to see.
I guess I would be remiss if I didn't mention the other neighborhood Icon in this painting.   The Joinery
is a woodworking, furniture shop that creates incredible wood furniture.

4 comments:

  1. I like this a lot - makes me want to see what's inside there (even though you've told me it's a library). Great reflections of the windows.

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    1. Thanks RH. The windows were supposed to be one of the focal points. I had some difficulty focusing on painting them correctly. You have to really look to get it right. I got some parts right. Lately I've been wanting to focus on reflections. I have a water painting in the back of my mind right now.

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  2. Saw the Portlandia episode where Adrianne had a nice part!! She's a beauty and did a good job :)

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  3. Thank you on behalf of my daughter. It was fun because we were all Portlandia fans before she "landed" that part. If she were an actress, I probably wouldn't have thought as much of it because it was literally 10 seconds. It was the surprise of her being on the show that was so exciting.

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