This painting is the result of a workshop I took recently in urban landscapes with Jacob Dhein. I may tweak it here and there, but this is pretty much as far as I can go with it. I found the workshop challenging, but that's because this kind of painting is new to me. I can recall only having done one other urban landscape before. I've got another one in mind to do, which hopefully won't take nearly as long as this one did.
This painting started life as an abstract exploration of yellow, black and grey, inspired by the colors of a MiniCooper I had seen on the road that was mostly grey with black accents, a yellow grill and yellow ears. I like this particular color combo with the various mixes it produces, especially the green/greys. The yellow warbler just seemed like a natural fit.
Here's another painting on the theme of feminine mystique, which is turning into a series, it seems. I get a kick out of paintings that tell a story, and this one is up for grabs -- my favorite kind!
This was just an exercise to loosen up with some figures and experiment with composition. A loose interpretation of Bouguereau's The Birth of Venus, I simplified and went more abstract in places just to see how far I could push it.
