Venice Canals (in an impressionist style)

"Canal" 9 x 12 chalk pastel on grey toned Mi-Teintes paper
Click here to buy print:
http://www.redbubble.com/people/nikihilsabeck/art/6901630-1-canal-pastel

I tried to keep this one light and loose-- it was on small paper. I've painted this subject before, with acrylic on paper in one of my classes at UCR. In that attempt, I was focused on pattern and texture, and had a much larger piece of paper as a surface. Knowing from experience how much "information" there was in the reference photo, I reminded myself to stick to my basic impression of the place and not muddle around in the details. Keeping a light touch and focusing on lights and darks helped me do this.

I took this reference photo a few years ago along one of the canals in Venice, California. As a child, I often heard my grandmother reminisce about living in Venice and visiting the canals. Every few years, we'll make the drive out there to walk along Venice Beach and have lunch. The last time we visited was the first time I got to see the canals, and I was enchanted. I would love to be able to walk into my backyard and hop into a boat for a little trip down a canal. The bridges and rowboats also reminded me of Monet's paintings, so of course I had to take a bunch of pictures.

On a side note, another great city with canals is Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I'm a little nervous about those canals, though. I'm terrified of alligators (or any other creatures with sharp teeth under dark water!)

Click here to see more paintings of California scenery:
http://artbynikihilsabeck.blogspot.com/p/merry-weather-places.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inspired by Light (Pastels on Canvas)

Image
"Morning Glow" 12 x 16 Chalk Pastel on Flat Canvas Email nicolehilsabeck@yahoo.com if interested in purchasing Been trying to get back into the daily painting routine, which for me either means a small painting a day, or a larger painting spread over two days.  It's a bit of a challenge with the growing belly and a very inquisitive firstborn, but I was lucky enough to get a little extra inspiration from an odd source: Sunday's eclipse. We have beautiful views of the canyon and hills behind us, and I watched the light change on this hill as the sunlight waned throughout the course of the eclipse.  I noted how the normally stunning lights and shadows on this hill were blunted by the general darkening (as opposed to the usual sunrise or sunset glow).  I thought I would be a little more appreciative of those lights and darks and try a painting of the trees and hills the next morning. I completed this painting in several steps, having struggled a little recent...
Read more

Painting Cats

Image
"The Bookeeper" Click here to view auction After many years of painting cats, I've learned a few things.  Every time I start a new cat painting, it follows its own unique path, bringing challenges that I don't seem to face when I paint my more traditional material (landscapes, birds, floral and botanical pieces, etc.) For example, cats don't stay put for too long (unless they're asleep, and even then they'll often stretch and change positions when you're least expecting it).  To combat this challenge, I end up working mostly from photographs.  That means adjusting the proportions, since the camera angle causes some distortion depending on the position and location of the cat. "Eye Contact" Oil Pastel Not for Sale "Side Glance" Oil Pastel Available on Etsy  One of the reasons cats are enjoyable to paint is that they have strong facial expressions.  When I'm painting a cat, I get so focused on rendering the cat...
Read more

A Hot Mess of Water Lilies!

Image
"Balboa Water Lilies" 9 x 12 Chalk Pastel on Paper Click here to view large or purchase So, every time I take great photos to paint later it turns into a learning experience for me. We took a little day trip in September down to Balboa Park in San Diego, California.  There wasn't much left of the water lilies after some recent vandalism (a bunch of geniuses decided to have a water gun fight and ended up destroying the lilypond).  It was a strangely hot day for downtown San Diego-- part of a series of heat waves that dogged me throughout the last months of my pregnancy.  I was thrilled to get some pretty photos while down there, particularly of the lilypads and turtles. I love to paint water, but I forget how time consuming it can be.  There are lots of layers involved, and I ended up using fixative as I layered in the lights and darks in this piece.  I also didn't anticipate how difficult it is to depict those peaceful, floating lilypads.  Af...
Read more