Workshop33; Davis Street, Culpeper, VA

Add a Comment

Comment by Ruby on June 26, 2014 at 2:16

Betsy this is beautiful work. Gorgeous colours and you are certainly not screwing up by any means. Fab work!!!

Comment by Dorian Aronson on June 25, 2014 at 16:46

Glad you caught them, forgot to tell you I love all those pretty colors! :-)

Comment by Betsy Jenkins on June 25, 2014 at 16:43

Thanks, Dorian! I caught the smiles coming my way!  Thanks!

Comment by Dorian Aronson on June 25, 2014 at 16:39

Very nice work!  Smiles coming your way...........:-)

Comment by Betsy Jenkins on June 25, 2014 at 10:28

Thanks, Nancy for your uplifting words! Mark Twain said, "I can work for a month on one small compliment." I think that's true of most artists. Thanks again!

Comment by Betsy Jenkins on June 25, 2014 at 10:12

Thanks for taking the time to look and think about how this might be helped, Craig! I went down there today and had lunch and tried to get pictures of people walking on the sidewalk and crossing the street. I also discovered that the town has put a little trolley-bus into service. It looks just like a San Francisco cable car - green and red. Not sure it will fit into the composition, but I took pictures of it as it came up the street. I will tackle this painting again next week sometime, when I get back from work. Thanks again!

Comment by Nancy Sands on June 25, 2014 at 10:09

No matter what, it truly is charming.

Comment by Craig Seaborn on June 25, 2014 at 9:55

Hi Betsy I think some life would be a good addition give it some movement. This is a great job so far love the colours!!

Thanks Craig

Comment by Betsy Jenkins on June 25, 2014 at 4:32

Wow, Jeri, Thanks so much! I was feeling blue that this painting was bombing so badly, without me really "getting" why. It's okay to screw up, but not okay when you can't learn why and do better next time. Fortunately, I am blessed to have kind souls like you and some others on this board who are willing to give me the benefit of their experienced and impartial eye. I walked away from it today, and guess where I went? Right back to the scene of the crime! I'm eating lunch at the market (green building on the left) as we speak. I am going to have another pass at this painting and I will incorporate some of your advice and also some of Ann's, who is another one of my guardian angels here. Thanks again so much!

Comment by Jeri McDonald on June 25, 2014 at 4:05

Hi Betsy! My first impression is the lovely harmonious use of color. I think you did that rather well. A more neutral sky would work but my thoughts are it speaks a totally different style that plays well with the other colors in the buildings. What I would do is create a gradiation from the forground (street) back toward that last red car and making it your focal point leading the eye down the street. Darker in the forground to start and gradiate lighter back. Then I would reduce the intensity of those orange lines on the far left front right there in front of that first blue car. It pulls your eye out of the picture plane away from the color buildings and cars. You want the eye to move around the painting but not out of it. Ian Roberts has a book I treasure and study everyday over and over again called "Mastering Composition". It is invaluable to me. You can get it on North Light books online. Make the street a base color maybe a low intensity blue gray gradiating back as I said in the beginning and then add the nuances of color indicate some lines going back. Hope that helps! Otherwise it is a very engaging scene painted quite well.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page