city on the water

This is my most recent painting, and (although it’s not perfect) I’m happy to have accomplished it. First of all- I have not painted with acrylic on canvas for several years, maybe even since college. The other things is that this is the first cityscape I’ve ever painted! I dove into this a bit like a dumb dumb without any idea how I would pull it off. I didn’t take any progress shots due to the fact that I was extremely frustrated with it, and I was quite confident that it would not be completed. This is not an uncommon confidence, but I muscled through and I’m so glad I did.

I began the piece by laying down the sky and water. On the horizon line I painted the structure of the buildings. It was an interesting transition, because I began with a sleeping city. The buildings were standing strong, but none of them had lights. As soon as I started painting the lights and reflections in the water, the city awoke and was filled with life. There is always a moment with my artwork where the piece turns a corner and I get excited about it. Whether I am pushing in the final highlights, or blending edges- that is the moment that I decide I will complete the piece and may even like it. Putting the lights in skyscrapers was that moment for this piece.

So, although it’s not perfect, I am proud to have painted a city that means so much to me.

As always, you can see more of my work here.