Demonstrations from teaching or exhibits can accumulate in my studio faster than the speed of sound. The yellow brick road can sull quickly when answering questions and talking through a demo. So....when the print rack becomes full...it is time to add finishing touches to complete the painting or....the chop shop. A stack of paintings with a variety of subjects became a challenge....jumping from flowers, sidewalk cafes and city scape's....high key to dark keeps the creativity flowing . I actually enjoy switching gears using a variety of mat sizes to create different images from the original. Values or colors usually need tweaking because some shapes need to reconnect. These are a few of the crops/finishes that made for a fun day. Must confess some demos decorated the trash and others will be turned to the back side and used for studies. Below are the 15x22 original paintings and the crops are 16x20 or 15x11... 1/4 sheet of watercolor paper.
Although I liked the subject...the white awning cut the painting in half and detracted from the the action underneath. This was on Arches rough 140# paper.
The 16x20 crop below was more appealing to me with a few adjustments....glazed the awning with a warm yellow ochre.
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Another half sheet on Arches 140# rough paper...colorful newspaper dispensers could take center stage on their own. I chose to add a few figures and umbrella for interest. The painting wasn't
trash worthy but a 16x20 mat cropped out areas that were not important.
The focus on figures and newsstand's....the windows were darkened and colors were popped up to enhance the overall painting.
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This was an oblong southwest blend on hot press paper this size occasionally
creates mat/framing/hanging issues so...decided to create
two 11x14 paintings.
Twenty demos had make overs today.....hair cuts, color or new style...another advantage of cropping...paintings are simplified with a new perspective from the original.....
