Sunrise Commute

Oil 12" by 16" on canvas. Photo reference taken out windshield. This is the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge heading East, early in the morning.

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Comment by Sharon Casavant on October 26, 2013 at 3:47: The highway has the best sunrises and sunsets! Unless you are on vacation!

Comment by Lori Ippolito on October 26, 2013 at 2:52: Fabulous road and cars..I feel like I'm in the car myself!! You really captured the essence of this scene so well ( I'm sure it's burned in your mind traveling this route everyday...lucky you to have such a beautiful commute)!!! When you're getting around to your fixes, take a look at the tower (H shape).. Can you just make it a touch taller so it's not even with the body of land across the water? ....though as I look again, perhaps it's meant to end there and lead the eye up to that land then to the right? Clearly I've much to learn re composition, so please accept my suggestions in that light! I'm seeking to understand!!

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on October 25, 2013 at 15:52: Thanks Li and Silvana. Silvana I didn't use any of Richard's techniques for this painting and it's not a sunset; plus, I still have to fix the sky. Stu

Comment by Silvana M Albano on October 25, 2013 at 15:06: Stu, enter it for the workshop!

Comment by Ningning Li on October 25, 2013 at 15:00: Stuart, it is a wonderful work and very interesting design. I enjoy the darkest blue forground and those bright and dark lines lead me to the seting sun. For me, it is very morden. Very well done as usual.

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on October 18, 2013 at 13:41: Thanks Michael and Britt. I will be applying some fixes after I get through my plein air workshop next week and get my competition painting for this month finished--almost there. Britt, the reason I'm giving it a try in PSE is because I need to learn how to use it better. After I finish the above 2 tasks, I'm signing up for a month by month on Lynda.com to learn how to use Photoshop Elements 11 to full advantage. My outdoor painting friend Katie is doing that right now and she's ticking me off at how good she is getting, so I have got to get with it and do it. She says that is really geared for photographers and not artists, but when you learn how to use the tools that you can do amazing stuff before slapping the paint on. Just another tool. "Burn pile" is Michael Severin's term, but I'm not sure he ever burns up any paintings because he's a bit of an environmentalist. I suspect he sands them down and uses his excess paint to paint over them in a mid-value gray. Stu

Comment by Britt Greenland on October 18, 2013 at 7:58: Ha! Stu, the same thing just happened to me ; ). I have clone rocks in my painting, and Ann pointed it out to me

; ). This is why we have each other's backs! Goodness, I don't think anyone would say it's even close to "burn pile"! I'm in awe of you people who use photoshop to help you figure out editing. Maybe I will try that in Lightroom someday.

Comment by Michael J. Severin on October 18, 2013 at 6:46: Stu, absolutely gorgeous!!! ......I loved this painting from the first time you showed it to me. You must not have had those clouds in when I first saw it, or I would have mentioned the pattern .....Yes, fix the pattern and the slanty horizon and you have yourself an absolute ....WINNER!! Great painting Stu.

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on October 17, 2013 at 17:33: Thanks Ann. As I told Britt, this one goes in the "fix-it" pile and not the burn pile. I may mess with it in Photoshop Elements to see what fixes will work best in the sky, and I need to either get rid of that sign or fix it by making it less intrusive. When's our plein air date? I am going out regularly on Saturdays with a small group; anytime you get the itch to paint outdoors you are very welcome to come join us. Stu

Comment by Ann Turner on October 17, 2013 at 17:17: Hi Stu, there are so many things that are great with this painting ! The dominant S shape takes us back into the painting and seems to me to have great perspective. You have painted the light and color to illustrate the time just before full light( at least I think so. . .I try to be home in bed when it looks like this) I admire the way that you handled the roadway with your paint indicating movement along the road. The glow on the road way from the cars also adds to this movement. The light poles are moving long the road getting smaller and less detailed as they go. You do have few strips in the sky and the bridge support or building on the left touches the skyline. These seem to be easy fixes considering the beauty of the other more complicated areas. Curses on those pesky cloud stripes.