Steve Fleming

Artist Studio

Steve Fleming

In The Studio: Number 51 of 90 Paintings in 90 Days, “Street in Old Town”

The Artist In The Studio

This painting is a cheap suit compared to the one that inspired it.  I was looking at a painting by Rex Brandt from a Painting Holidays Collection and thought I would use it as an idea for this painting.  Now some people will say that to use anyone’s painting as inspiration is cheating but I say not if you give just due to the author.  I find the parallel to be like the musician redefining a classic blues tune and giving it a new interpretation.  Well that is what this is and it is not as good as the original.  I will tell you that looking for direction in others work is fairly commonplace so don’t feel guilty but give credit where it is due.  The goal is going to be to leave a lot of interesting white paper with colorful accents where you want the viewer to look.  I ran a cerulean blue sky, some bright green for the trees, cobalt violet on the building and new gamboge on the tree splatter.  Keep this loose and abstract.

Paint the shadows on the left with a cobalt blue and violet with a pinch of burnt sienna, carry the new gamboge raw sienna mixture into the street.

Add the blue sky on the right side of the building and qualify the trees with stronger oranges, yellows and olive green.  Pull some more yellows into the street.

Put in some dark rich accents to give some definition to some of the washes, define the tree with branches and splashes of color.  Keep this painting loose and fun.  Don’t get hung up on the details.

Detail of figures and left side of buildings.

Detail of trees

2 Comments on “In The Studio: Number 51 of 90 Paintings in 90 Days, “Street in Old Town””

  1. I especially liked the way in which you dealt with a street painting. Painting outdoors is a pending matter. Thank you

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