The City, The View from the Water – Oil on Canvas
The City, The View from the Water (24 /48 oil on Canvas)
This is one of my favorite paintings of my recent works. It brings back the moment when I was standing on the ferry watching the sail boats sail by on a beautiful Montreal day. The effect was given by setting the viewpoint from the water. When you look at the lower half of the painting you get the feeling of looking down over the side of a boat. Whenever I want to remember the sensation of being on the water I just walk past this painting and put myself in the perspective of the viewer.
I began this painting by covering the white canvas with a wash of dusty blue. I wanted the painting to be overwhelmed by the calm blue of the water and to have it shine through all areas of the painting. I then began to work on the focal point which was the larger of the two sail boats. I gave additional detail to make the boat pop out of the painting. My intention was to give the impression that the boat was being drawn to the historic church as if the church was a magnet. This meant that the boat itself needed to be given life whereas the church’ detail was kept to a minimum since the church is the magnet and an object in this painting. Unlike the previous painting of this church “The City on the Water” where it was depicted in such detail that it feels like another of the figures visiting the water.
