Quiet and cloudy Saturday afternoon was a perfect setting to rework on this painting from 2 months ago. The composition still seemed unresolved so I decided to make the building smaller and change some of the perspective to create more surrounding space.
Although I still paint on site, I am no longer faithfully copying what I see. This creates its own set of challenges which I don't always have answers for. It's a process of trial and error. Looking at the progression from April and June side by side, there has been quite a few minor changes in effort to make it more interesting.
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In April's painting, the yellow building on the right hand corner seemed like a dead space. Although I have tried changing it to a few different shades of yellow and gray, it seemed too bland. Finally, it ended up with a shade of red brick color which compliments other dark and earthy colored buildings.
I also moved my painting easel's position a few feet to the right which showed a narrower and an angular perspective of the alley. It also inspired me to change the left hand side building into a slightly angled perspective to echo the subtle angles of the alleyway. This created a new dynamic in the painting. However it also raised other questions on the surrounding shapes for eg. shape for the shadow on the ground. I ended up extending the angle of the building to the shadow. These are minor choices but the choice you must make as those answers are not in a plain sight. Ultimately more decision making in the process lead to more identity of the artist in the work.
I am very happy with this direction for my work and I am looking forward to revisiting Northampton to complete this work.
