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MEDIUM: Watercolor on Paper
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SIZE: 22" x 30"
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STATUS: For sale $400, Unframed
"The textures old buildings frequently capture my attention and scream 'Paint Me.' Such was the case when I drove past this abandoned property, and I loved the look of the window, with panes released from their frames and piled up against the black void inside. The rust on the bars over the window, the hinges and elsewhere added more interest to the scene.
As much as I loved the building, I felt my painting would need a focal point. I remembered a "keep out" sign in my photo reference files, and felt that would add some tongue-and-cheek humor… who wouldn't want to keep out?!? In my reference photo, the black which likely once spelled out the letters had worn away on the sign, so the words were just being defined by the highlights and shadows - a good challenge to paint. I positioned the sign off-center for added interest. The yellow automatically made it stand out from the background, and letters in a painting usually draw the eye to that spot.
I painted this in watercolors, beginning with a very colorful underpainting with the three colors dropped directly onto the paper. I used the palette to mix all the other colors before brushing them on, trying to keep the overall image colorful while still using "local" color such as the grey of the wood siding and the reflected blues in the panes of glass."
