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.