First Presbyterian
Posted: August 4, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 7 Comments »Today I discovered that when it’s a hot day in Portland it’s only really hot for about two hours in the afternoon. The location I chose this morning for my demo must have been in a wind tunnel because my brave group of students froze in our shady corner while they watched me paint. It was only when we moved to our afternoon location at the First Presbyterian church that everyone thawed out. Below is my demo and a photo of the group. I’m not quite sure if they all look so happy because they learned something or because we were finally in a sunny spot.
Lovely contrast between the rough stone building and the slick geometry in the background… I am pretty sure that I have some photos, on the same theme, taken in my home city.
Is this the same elevation and circular window that are in the background of the group photo?… just wondering about the missing tree?
This is the same window as in the photo but I think there is an illusion in the photo. The tree is not right in front of the building – its much closer to us The shadow cast on the building is from another building to the left.
All is clear… I can see what you mean now.
The beautiful circular stained glass window, our focal point, just hints at the patterns within the glass pieces with color. The arches below the window, with their shades and shadows are subtle but important enought to kind of give an implied support to the window (as does the substantial stone frame around it.) Every stone is not articulated, only hinted at, some a bit more defined than the others-the stones with the most shadows are on top of the focal point and help to keep bringing our eye back to the window. You make it look so easy but I know that there are many layers of painting and expressing the character and soul of this building this church to consider (even the background contrast of the modern building behind it).I love this painting and the others that depict architecture, especially old intricate stone work-thank you
Gail, that is so beautifully expressed. Thanks for taking the time to give me this wonderful feedback. It’s really appreciated.
The finished piece looks great, Shai. I really like the way you handled all of the subtle variations in the blue building in the background. Thanks again for running a great workshop.
Thanks Alex. It was great having you with us. You did some great work and I’ll be following your progress.