This is, by far, my most ambitious work. It's the largest painting I've done, includes more detail (there are 24 buildings, 8 boats and 6 people) and required the use of almost every paint color I have. It took almost 2 months and probably 80 to 100 hours of effort.
The subject is Nyhavn, or new harbor, in Copenhagen. It's from a photograph I took in June, 1998. Built in the 17th century it's actually the oldest part of the harbor. Hans Christian Anderson lived at Nyhavn 18 at one time. (Please don't ask me which is 18.)
This is a composite of many other things I've learned and a few new things. I started by blocking in the houses along the left bank, added the windows. and the roofs (sans the chimneys). Then the few buildings on the right. After that I filled in the sky and blocked in the docks.
Next I added the reflection from the houses. This was a special challenge because the paint had dried and I had to remix colors to match the house colors. The first step was to block in the reflection with aquiquinone blue, then use a stiff bristle brush to scratch in the reflections. I then added the details on the dock, starting with the umbrellas. Adding the details under them was a bit challenging as I couldn't really see what was there from the photo. I was very happy with the small images of people as this is the first time I've done that.
The boats came next and I took each one like a separate painting all its own. I added the blue water, reflecting the sky and finally I added the masts, lines, reflection of the boats and, most complicated of all, the separation detail between the reflection of the buildings and the sky.
The subject is Nyhavn, or new harbor, in Copenhagen. It's from a photograph I took in June, 1998. Built in the 17th century it's actually the oldest part of the harbor. Hans Christian Anderson lived at Nyhavn 18 at one time. (Please don't ask me which is 18.)
This is a composite of many other things I've learned and a few new things. I started by blocking in the houses along the left bank, added the windows. and the roofs (sans the chimneys). Then the few buildings on the right. After that I filled in the sky and blocked in the docks.
Next I added the reflection from the houses. This was a special challenge because the paint had dried and I had to remix colors to match the house colors. The first step was to block in the reflection with aquiquinone blue, then use a stiff bristle brush to scratch in the reflections. I then added the details on the dock, starting with the umbrellas. Adding the details under them was a bit challenging as I couldn't really see what was there from the photo. I was very happy with the small images of people as this is the first time I've done that.
The boats came next and I took each one like a separate painting all its own. I added the blue water, reflecting the sky and finally I added the masts, lines, reflection of the boats and, most complicated of all, the separation detail between the reflection of the buildings and the sky.
2 comments:
This is a beautiful piece. I thought it was a photograph when I looked at it the first time. You captured the water and the reflections in it perfectly.
Same first impression. I thought it was a photograph until I read your notes. Outstanding work!
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