Cityscapes

It seems the urban environment speaks to me in an ever-louder voice. I see so many buildings that call out to be painted. Since I’m not a figure painter, painting the places that people inhabit is my way of showing the human condition. Our structures say a lot about us. Many of my recent paintings depict scenes near my studio in Lawrenceville. A lesson I learned from my very first painting class still applies: paint what you know.

I’ve been using shadows from outside the picture plane to influence structures. I think this creates the illusion of extending the painting beyond what I have shown. Edward Hopper used parallel lines such as railroad tracks to create the same illusion. Illuminated Peaks is an example. The pine tree, light pole and rooflines are shown only through shadow.