Rio on Soquel, 20x16
Rio on Soquel, 20x16", Pastel on sanded paper © 2010 Brenda Boylan
I'm still painting like mad in the studio in preparation for the Caswell Gallery "Cityscape" show for February. I have 2 more to go, so here is the 4th in my themed series. The reference photo was taken from an emergency trip to the Bay Area last year in July. It was a horrible time for my family because we had a sudden death. This is my family taking a much needed breather of a walk in Santa Cruz to the beach by way of The Rio Theatre. I have always loved that retro look of oceanliners and diners and I was so taken by the shape of the neon sign that I had to record this moment in time or forever miss it. I have wanted to paint this scene since I took this shot and now I have good reason to put pastel to paper. All the while painting, I was reminiscing about the warm summer glow of the late evening light and the sadness and confusion my family was going through. A time-lapse video of this piece will soon follow.
An added note: The marquis originally had another performing artist in lights but because I didn't have a personal connection with that artist and promote whomever it was, I decided to put the title of a new book my daughter wrote and recently published through Lulu.com: The Hidden Temple.
Labels: Caswell Gallery, cityscape, retro, Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, Soquel Ave, time lapse video
posted by Brenda Boylan at
December 29, 2010
3 Comments:
Beautiful work Brenda! There are sooo many colours and they harmonise well together. Sorry to hear of your family's loss. At the time of the photo I'm sure there was a lot of confusion like you said but I hope by now you have all found some peace. Hope you had a great holiday!
You're a pro, Brenda...able to paint to a theme...! Good luck with the city show...I want to see it!
(I'm so sorry that this is from a sad time..but the scene definitely looks optimistic).
Thanks Vanessa, I didn't think of all those colors, but you are right, there is a lot of color goin' on here. I love a lot of color and struggle to get the neutrals in their places to help push the color and warmth. It's been a while now and the pain is less but the memories of that time still lingers strong.
Celeste, a pro, huh? Thanks! Yes, this theme thing is pushing me in that direction and luckily I have always wanted to do a series of urban scenes. So the desire is there to help move me along. :) One thing I've taken from the past event is that life is so darned precious, and I look at all the stuff I have and just want to toss it to lighten my load. It's actually a nice side effect from it all. :)
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