Abstracting City Shapes

"Looking South on Tenth Ave."  12x12", Acrylic  Click for info

Sometimes I like to paint the same image more than once, and push it in different ways. This is the same intersection as "Gallery District NYC", posted a few days ago, but much more abstracted. Again, I had to create people to give interest to the focal point, but this time I left in the van and delivery truck.  I think they work in this version because they help lead your eye to the focal point. Plus I think they add some needed diagonal direction to balance out the strong vertical and horozontal shapes.

Crossing First Ave.

"Crossing First Ave." NYC  Acrylic 16x22"  $350  Click to Buy

Here is another Tetrad color scheme (four colors), Purple, Red, Blue and Yellow. It started out as a complimentary color scheme but then I decided it needed more color pizazz! Love this guy crossing the street - I actually saw him walking in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and decided that one day I would stick him in a painting. Well here he is, crossing First ave. (even tho he was really walking down 5th ave.) Artistic license, love that too.

New York State of Mind

"New York State of Mind"  Acrylic 8x10"  Click to buy

Soho Watertower

"Soho Watertower"  8x10"  Oil  Click for more info

These watertowers, such a NYC fixture, and quite endearing somehow. They are like little mushrooms sitting atop of buildings everywhere. I heard that no other city has these? How tragic - they're so cute!

Bleeker and Thompson St., NYC

"Red Awning"  8x8"  Oil  SOLD

A while back I was asked to do a painting for American Express that they could use as window sticker to be placed on doors of retail stores in cities in and around New York. They asked for a "typical" NYC image, so I headed downtown, and did a painting of the other street corner (the left hand side that doesn't show here). In typical NYC political fashion, the upper east side merchants wanted a scene that depicted their neck of the woods. So as luck would have it, I was hired to do two paintings, to make everyone happy. (No one was happier than me). This painting was from the pictures I took for that Amex job.  It was a cloudy day, but the job was a "rush" so no time to wait for better light.
Yesterday I came upon this photo and decided to paint it, but wanted to change it to a sunny day. I don't usually do that - but  that beautiful red awning seemed to need some drama. By adding some shadows and strong highlights I think I kinda pulled it off. And if I didn't, thats OK... it's definitely snappier than the photo.

Want to paint urban landscapes in an ancient hillside town in Italy? Come to the Cortona, Tuscany Workshop, Sept 24 - Oct 1, 2014.

Ray's Pizza Route

"Ray's Pizza Route"  16x20" Acrylic  Purchase Info

It's memorial day. 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. I catch a scent of barbecues, and hear the faint sound of oldies playing on a radio... all this from my open studio window. Here I am, painting away. This is my idea of a holiday. I gave up pretending to be like everyone else a long time ago. That being said, I do have other ideas - but this one ranks way up there.

Rooftop View of Chrysler Building

"Rooftop Party"  Acrylic on Panel  8x8" (sold)

Sometimes painting can start to seem too left-brained and serious ... when that happens I like to pull out the stops and just play with color, shapes and textures. This was one of those anything goes paintings. If it looks like I had fun ... I did!

Text Stop

"Text Stop"  16x20"  Oil on Canvas  SOLD

Last week I was in New Orleans for new product training, sponsored by Golden Paints. We worked with the luscious Williamsburg Paints and QOR Watercolors.  Both products have an amazing pigment load and were a dream to work with.  The above painting was done with Williamsburg Paints. It was really fun working in oils again!

I have several workshops coming up... 

• Paint Fast, Loose and Bold in St. Michaels Md, June 3,4,5  2014. For information contact Valerie Sunderland, valeriesunderland@gmail.com
• Paint Fast, Loose and Bold in Syracuse, NY, June 21,22,23  2014. For information contact Linda Cohen, lpaints311@gmail.com
• Let's Paint the colors of Tuscany in Cortona, Italy, September 24 - Oct. 1 2014. For more info, including the full week's itinerary click here. 

Window Shopping in NYC

"Window Shopping"  16x20" Acrylic  Purchase Info

I stuck the little pooch in at the last minute, maybe because my last painting had one... yes, the finishing touch!

Midtown Showers in NYC

"Midtown Showers"  Acrylic 8x8"  Click to View

Dreary but colorful ... a typical rainy day scene in the city

I'm really excited about my upcoming workshops ... I will be demonstrating methods for loosening up with acrylics or oils. We will be painting cityscapes, still lifes and more!

Painting Fast, Loose and Bold (in acrylics and oils) Carmel Visual Arts, Carmel,California February 19-21, 2014

Loosen Up! March 14-17, 2014 Cary, NC, March 14-17, 2014

Painting the NYC Urban Landscapes, May 19-23, 2014

How I spent my new years eve 2013

"Effervescent Intersection"  10x12" Acrylic  Click to View

I think the title of this painting may have something to do with the mood of the night. OK, a little bubbly was consumed. I spent it solo, as usual, (not complaining). Hubby had a jazz gig in Times Square and I was not up for the ordeal of the park-o-rama, wall to wall crowds, not to mention it is freezing!!! Staying home with snoring kitties and the fireplace humming away + my paints and brushes seemed like the perfect way to usher in the new year - it was!

Chelsea Hipster

Chelsea Hipster  6x6" Oil  Click to Bid

This scene is 25th and 10th, the heart of the gallery district in Chelsea, where everyone looks at art... and their phones.

Opposing Forces in NYC

"Opposing Forces"  14x14" Acrylic

In NYC, anything goes. So why not teal streets?

"Northbound on 10th"  18x24" Acrylic  Buy Now

Summertime is here and it's time to ... paint the city! I have an upcoming show at Simie Maryles Gallery in  Provincetown starting Labor Day weekend and there is no better time than now to start creating new work. The gallery is known for its New York City artwork, so that will be my main painting focus this summer. 

My goal on this piece was just loosen up and play with color, do some abstraction, create movement, simplify, etc.  It's the type of image I'd like to play with many more times, and keep experimenting, trying new things each time. I may do that - or not. In our garden the roses, foxglove, cosmos and begonias are in full bloom and begging to be painted.  Hmmm, decisions, decisions. What's that I said about focus?

New York City Impressions 2

City Impressions  2  Acrylic on WC Paper  14x14"

Another piece for the show... the view is from Soho looking North. I like working on paper, but when the time comes, I am not going to enjoy all the framing.

New York City Impressions

City Impressions 1  Acrylic on WC Paper 10x10"

I'm creating a lot of new work for my upcoming show in Provincetown at Simie Maryles Gallery. It starts on Labor Day weekend in September and will be up for a month. The entire show will be a collection of urban landscapes based on NYC.