Sneak peek at new paintings for upcoming show

I've been painting a bit more slowly than usual; my time has become highly divided between artwork and my volunteer duties for the Salmagundi Club.  (Note to self: must limit time away from painting. It has been painful, not to mention it makes me very cranky!). Here are three new paintings I've worked on for my upcoming show with Mary Connelly. I've been focusing on small works because the gallery we will be showing in is very small. There are others underway.

"Cafe Bar", oil on canvas, 9x12 in.

I've walked by this block on 5th Ave in Park Slope a gazillion times on my way to my studio.  One day this view struck me - such a typical Brooklyn street scene, on a quiet weekend morning in Park Slope before the hordes hit the streets.

"ABC Construction Co.", oil on canvas, 12x16 in

I've looked at this view even more than a gazillion times... it's a scene from my studio window! A typical Gowanus neighborhood view.  For the last couple of years, I couldn't quite figure out a composition (see "works in progress" for a painting I never did finish because it just wasn't working for me - a view mostly of a cloudy sky above this view). It finally hit me this spring when the guy started to sweep the driveway, the truck was pulled out front, the shadows hit just right. I like how it captures the feeling of all the "layers" of urban space receding back and away.

"Little Owl Cafe, West Village," oil on panel, 9x12 in.

I started this painting using my pochade box after walking around quite a bit in the West Village (yes, I ventured into Manhattan).  I realized that one down-side of the pochade box is that you need to be able to sit somewhere to paint with it. I ended up perched on the edge of a narrow tree-well "fence" with my pochade box on my lap. It was precarious and definitely not comfortable. I got a good part of the painting done while there (the gentleman in the painting sat for a few minutes, walked away and then miraculously came back so that I could finish getting his likeness!), but finished it up back at my studio.  I enjoyed working with the shaded areas in the foreground and the sun sneaking through between the shadows of buildings and the cafe's awning, but the background buildings are lit up... sort of a reversed lighting set-up.