Lunch at Alamo Square

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches - Click Here to Bid

This week's assignment for the Daily Paintworks' Challenge was to paint using the limited palette of Anders Zorn. Titanium Whie, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red and Ivory Black. Well, I don't really have those colors, and I thought I'd actually like it so much that I might move in that direction any way. So, along with white, I used by acrylic versions of Carbon Black, Pyrrole Red, and Hansa Yellow.

Well it was quite a different experience. I knew I could make greens with black and yellow, but what was going to do without blue? Well, they grey's I mixed with black and white wind up taking on a blue feeling, when seen next to the other warm colors. Wow.

With less paint choices, I think I actually made decisions faster and mixed colors faster. I think I really like this limitation. But I really miss having blue around.

As to the subject, I'm doing a series of images of Alamo Square, but trying to show it from unusual angles. I swore I'd never paint the cliché victorian "Painted Ladies" row, but I really liked the way this guy was sitting, almost perched on the shadow of a lamp post. So there.

At the Beach

Acrylic on Panel - 14 x 18 inches - NFS

These were for a commission for a dear friend of mine. Like the last one I did, I didn't get a chance to meet these kiddies and had to work from the only photo provided. That left me with the decision of how close to crop in. The top version was my initial plan, but someone looking over my shoulder suggested a pull-ed back version to show more of the sea. I tried to argue my case, but decided to shut up and just paint two. I'm not telling which one my friend picked.