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 15×22 original paintings and the crops are 16×20 or 15×11… 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 16×20 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 16×20 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 11×14 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…..