Painting of Fruit Cart – Venice – Layers and layers.

Working on this wee beastie is somewhat like pulling teeth. I may have mentioned that once or twice before. I lose count. Owing to the waxing and waning light levels in my art studio, it has been quite a challenge to be consistent with the tonal values thus far.

My husband’s photo below is what I’m aiming for, i.e. as close to a photographically accurate rendition as I can manage, give or take an ounce of artistic license.

This is where I’m at so far. Bearing in mind that I did take a three week break somewhere in between now and my previous update.

I’ve started adding some of the darker tones. You’d be surprised how difficult it is to paint a circular tyre in perspective. Requires a dexterity and wherewithal that would challenge the best of us. Also, in order to create the illusion of a deep black, pure ‘black’ paint straight from the tube will not suffice. The ‘black’ I’ve used here is in fact a blend of Winsor Violet, Prussian Blue, Burnt Sienna and Ivory Black (it’s only just struck me what a contradiction that last name is). As it is, the blacks in this painting are going to require several layers in order to achieve the depth of the original photograph.

I’ve been working on the floor tiles and the wall, building up layers of paint glazes. It’s a bigger job than I had originally anticipated, and slow going owing to the amount of detail. I’ll get there eventually, however. See if I don’t…

Now that the paint has had a few days to dry, I can begin neatening up the details on the buildings in the background. I have to add a few details that aren’t present in the above photo – the format of my canvas is slightly different than that of the photo: Same width, but slightly longer. We managed to find a reference photo of the exact same buildings from Google maps, so I can make an educated guess when drafting the missing windows and lintels. I’ll be much happier when I’ve blocked the windows in with a coat of paint as it’ll add further depth to the whole piece, and allow me to gauge the overall tonal range of the painting.

I have been taking pictures at every stage, so perhaps at a later point I can do a video montage of them all in lieu of a time-lapse film. We’ll see.

Posted in Works of ArtTagged artist fine art flatiron building New York oil on canvas oil painting paint perspective drawing photo realisim street photography street scenes travel painting travel photography Venice Works of Art