Central Park Revisited

Top: Stone Bridge in Winter
Oil on Canvas 20" X 16"

Bottom: Sunday in the Park
Oil on Canvas 20" X 16"

I hinted in my last blog that the painting "The Road to Salzburg" was to be my farewell to winter. Well, it wasn't. It's probably because those of us in Northern New England are simply obsessed with winter and can't let it go. I'm not going to speculate though because winter does give me some decent painting opportunities.
"Stone Bridge in Winter" came to me by way of my son. In my blog of 5/28 I told of our trip to New York and spending some time in Central Park. My son Tom and his wife live on 104th St., a couple of short blocks from the park and spend a lot of time there. He's also a pretty good photographer and when he saw the paintings that resulted from our visit to the park, he sent me some of his photos. I picked the one of the stone bridge as it is a subject I really liked the first time and this was a chance to do it in a new way. In his photo, the bridge was centered, but I moved it a bit to the left to get more out of the colors and light in the snow on the right. Of course I had to change the perspective a bit. His camera saw a lot of blue (which I find most digital cameras do without adjustment) so I toned it down a bit, but left the blue in the shadow areas, particular around the base of the bridge. I minimized the background detail to keep the focus on the subject. I like the way it turned out and learned more about how a painter can use a photo creatively. Somebody who knows more about using photos in a painting than I do (are you listening Frank Gardner?), ought to deal with this as a blog subject.
"Sunday in the Park" uses this often photographed bridge in the park-the name escapes me--in an impressionist mode, irresitably. I put an extra bit of arch in the bridge, which has really a much smoother arc, because there is a Japanese bridge here in a local park that I really admire that has such an arch, almost like a hovering bird. I also put just one boat in the picture. There were several in the photo. That's my interest in solitary things popping up again. I resisted the temptation to show more backgound detail and hyped the reflections in the water--particularly the low lying willow, and the colors. I also messed with the sky, as I imagine Monet or one of my other impressionist pals would have done. Again--using a photograph creatively, I hope.
All in need is a thumbs up from Tom and I'll be OK. Maybe even a couple of more ideas...

Central Park

Stone Bridge: Central Park
12" X 9" Oil on Masonite

Central Park Pastorale
14" X 11" Oil on Masonite

I mentioned earlier that I had visited my son and his wife in NYC, now about three weeks ago. They live on the upper west side in an area that borders on Spanish Harlem. Central park--the northwest quadrant--is two short blocks to the east. They have spent many a weekend morning or afternoon enjoying the many benefits that the park offers.
As a kid growing up in the NYC area, the big attraction for me in the Park was the zoo which is still there but in no way equal to the famous Bronx Zoo and other zoos such as San Diego in the rest of the U.S. The rest of the park was a bit forbiding and it had a bad rep for hoodlums and derelicts. That is all different now. It is a thing of beauty from top to bottom and within its square mile or so are some wonderful natural sites as well as recreational attractions. On the great lawn in the park one time, 500,000 of Luciano Pavoratti's best friends heard him sing in one of the many free concerts offered during summertime evenings. Other performers have experienced likewise. But it's the natural beauty of Central park that overwhelms.
On a beautiful sunlit Saturday morning I took a stroll with son Tom and my wife Bonnie. Of course I had my artist's eye working, and my camera and right brain. I spied at least a dozen potential paintings and I show here a couple of sketches that I think are keepers. I have some more, too, but I'll save those for the larger paintings I plan to extend them to.
The stone bridge had the light coming from the front right. I liked the backlit effect and the illuminated scene revealed through the bridge arch. Shooting into the light, my camera saw the setting as really dark (I must get a better camera!), but I retained a good memory of the image. I loved the illumination of the branches in the foreground and the colors in the brook. Back home I tried to paint this as if it were plein air, doing about a 30 minute sketch. I was thinking I'd save the sketch for reference in a larger piece, but it looked pretty good to me, so I added the finishing touches and made it THE image of the scene I wanted.
Likewise "Central Park Pastorale." Many textures and layers of objects all backed up by the buildings behind on Central Park West, the bordering street. Bonnie exclaimed delight upon seeing the sketch (not always the case with my work), so that was good enough for me. It became a keeper too.
I'll tell you one other thing about painting Central Park scenes--you get a lot of experience in painting different things--trees, water, buildings, ground textures, flowers and so on. Also this was still early spring so the sky was "open," not closed by the rich foliage canopy of summer. Thus, you get a lot of bright light to work with.
I should also report that if you walk across the park from where Tom and Meg live, you can end up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. All you have to do is veer south a bit.
If you go to NYC, get all the city offers, much of which is in the small patch of wonder.