More is Less

This one does not look too simple, but to paint something this complicated, I actually had to simplify quite a bit.  It's an 11x14 oil on multimedia board.  The view is looking north on Bond Street at President Street in Brooklyn.

When The Light Is Right

If you were to take the walkway that goes around the Whole Foods supermarket at Third and Third in Brooklyn, you  would see this view of the Gowanus Canal where it forks into two directions.  That building in the background does have the funny cubist shape.  The Gowanus Canal is beautiful when the light is right.  This is an 11x14 oil on multimedia board.

The Parking Lot and the War of Art

This time a 12x16 oil on panel of the terminus of Sterling Place at Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, where there's a supermarket and parking lot.

I've just finished a book titled "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield.  It's not as bloody as it sounds.  We are our own worst enemy through finding excuses to avoid creative work.  The author calls it "resistance" and, in this case, it's not a good thing.  An important quote from the middle of the book: "The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work.  The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like."  Yes, "rewards" are active beings, and "professionals" are not people who get paid to make art.

Outrigger

The corner of Grand Avenue and Dean Street in Brooklyn, another 11x14 on multimedia board.  This is a late afternoon view with bright areas of sunlight and deep shadows between buildings.  I like the "outrigger" feel about the composition.

Barely Perceptible

Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, an 11x14 oil on multimedia board.  There are times I just like gray.  It helps barely perceptible colors become visible.

Less Is More in Brooklyn

Trying to get simpler, bolder, less fussy: an 11x14 oil on multimedia board representing Washington Avenue approaching Sterling in Brooklyn.

Late Afternoon Sun

A view looking down St. Marks Avenue near the corner of Classon Avenue.  Late afternoon sun.
An 11x14 oil on multimedia board.

A Glance in Brooklyn

Have you noticed that when you are standing at a street corner waiting for the light to change, you might glance up the street, and a glance is all you get, and then you walk on.  This glance is an 11x14 oil on multimedia board.  It depicts the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and St. Marks Avenue in Brooklyn.  I did it like the previously posted painting: I painted three areas with three shades of gray, and then worked in some color.

Simple Harmony

An 11x14 oil on multimedia board: a view of Bond Street near Carroll Street in Brooklyn looking south.  First I painted three shapes in three shades of gray, and then worked in the variations, for a simple harmony.

Bisected Twice in Brooklyn

An 18x24 oil on canvas of the Union Street Bridge in Brooklyn.  I'm always intrigued by the ways to bisect a canvas in both directions and put stuff in each section so that it doesn't look crossed.  Of course I like the bridge too with the late afternoon light and shadows.

Dark Sky, Bright Sunlight in Brooklyn

This 12x16 oil on panel depicts Bergen Street approaching Washington Avenue in the early morning.  The sky was overcast except the sun had opportunities to poke through brilliantly.  It's when the sky is dark that the sunlight appears brighter.

Baroque in Brooklyn

I've always had a special place in my heart for Edward Hopper's "Early Sunday Morning" painting.  His painting is spare and abstract compared to my baroque version with fire escapes and cars. Mine is a Saturday afternoon view of Third Avenue near Carroll Street in Brooklyn.  It's an 18x24 oil on canvas.