Wednesday, June 9, 2010

42nd Street


This was done for a challenge for "Light into Darkness." I thought about this one for quite a few days, pondering what I wanted to paint. I thought of candles, of lights, lanterns. How do I depict light into darkness.

I work in NYC, commute to & from every day. It is a love/hate relationship I have with the city. It has an energy, a vibrance and a rhythm that can't really be described. But it can be felt. Anytime of day, walk out onto the streets, and you can sense it. The people, walking/talking. Some with ipods following their own music, some just caught up in the rhythm of the activity around them. On days when I need a boost, the city will give it to me. But also, on days when I'm feeling tired or not up-to-par, the city can drain you also. Hence the love/hate relationship I mentioned.

At any rate, while I pondered this challenge one evening during my commute home, I realized that what I needed to paint was the city at night. With it's lights, it's colors, it's activity. I had a few areas in mind (Rockfeller center, Times Square, Theater Row) but found this image in the Wet Canvas reference library, of 42nd street. One look, and I knew it was the painting I needed to do. (Much credit & a big thank you to DraigAthar for this image. For those not aware of Wet Canvas, once you join - it's free - you have access to a very large reference library of images. All of them uploaded by other members, and all are free to use/paint without copyright problems).

Titled simply "42nd Street" this is Acrylic on 9x12 canvas.

AN UPDATE - I recently found out that this image is not allowed in the challenge. The rules are that all images must be your own, not some one else's - even if you have permission. Since this image was from the Wet Canvas library it can not be used. But the painting is done & it is posted here anyway.


5 comments:

Elizabeth Seaver said...

I love the impressionistic look of it and the lovely color.

Autumn Leaves said...

I think it is a fabulous piece, Nancie! Very well done and hopefully it inspires you to do another for the challenge???

beckielboo said...

What a shame this beautiful piece did not qualify because it is so beautifully painted - beats an ol' photo any day! Like Sherry said, it is still early, do enter again or the Challenge will be miss out!

Margaret said...

I am really impressed with this - the energy and the colorful shadows and glowing lights! Bring your camera into the city with you and snap away. This should be hung up on your wall! And btw, thanks for the intro to WetCanvas. I haven't had a chance to really delve into it, but I did join. Maybe some weekend coming up soon I will figure out all it has in store for me.

Angela Sullivan said...

Beautiful. It makes me want to take a trip to the city. I love this.

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