Coffee break

This old man caught my eye, having a rest with a cup of coffee after doing his shopping in the busy vegetable market. Behind him, tried to give the impression of the bus with colours of the shopping area reflected in its windows & removed most of the other people etc that were making the background too busy.

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Comment by Jessica Futerman on February 18, 2014 at 19:45: Thanks for your encouraging comments, Britt! Yes, I also noticed your lovely painting with a similar subject & thought it was a funny co-incidence!

Comment by Britt Greenland on February 18, 2014 at 6:20: Jessica, I really like the way you handled the background! I like the light falling on his back as well. Makes me crave some warm sunshine! It's so funny that we both did old men with coffee at about the same time ; )! I didn't see yours before I posted mine.

Comment by Jessica Futerman on February 17, 2014 at 8:21: Thank you very much, Laura for your kind comment! Yes, I shouldn't have been so quick to categorise this man as a beggar at first glance!

Comment by Laura Xu on February 17, 2014 at 7:53: This is a lovely painting Jessica. I like the subject and a very interesting story behind the painting.

Comment by Jon Main on February 16, 2014 at 22:23: Good stroyline - being engaged can fire you up and get the creative juices flowing!

Comment by Jessica Futerman on February 16, 2014 at 21:40: Actually, there's a bit more to this story! When I saw this elderly man, I assumed he was a beggar & was holding a cup for donations & quickly snapped a photo & walked on. It wasn't until I was painting him & "zoomed in" on that detail on the iPad photo, that I saw there was a stir-stick in the cup, and that it was must have been a cup of coffee!! Until then, I hadn't really thought the man himself was a very sympathetic subject, but I came to like the subject more as I painted!

Comment by Jessica Futerman on February 16, 2014 at 21:14: Thank you Jon & Silvana! I appreciate your comments very much! I think the contrast of the dark clothes/bright light & the interesting shapes were what made me want to paint this subject. And I liked the story line....the old man having a rest before walking home.

Comment by Silvana M Albano on February 15, 2014 at 12:08: Good work Jessica!!!!

Comment by Jon Main on February 15, 2014 at 9:28: Well, thinking about the composition/design sure pays off + good handling of the light, like Michael said

Comment by Jessica Futerman on February 15, 2014 at 6:50: Thanks a lot Michael for your encouraging & always helpful remarks & ideas! I do see the problem with the bag - it was actually a transparent nylon bag, so wasn't very visible. No reason why I can't change that though, since it doesn't "read" well! Glad the work on values showed up, as it's what I was trying to accomplish!