"Sidewalk Glances"

12 x 12"
sold

Front and center, on the third floor of the Art Institute, hangs Gustave Caillebotte's enormous painting 'Paris Street, Rainy Day' - certainly the biggest crowd-pleaser in the museum. There's plenty of room to not only get up close, but to back up a good 30 - 40 feet and take it all in. When I was a teenager, I would sit on the floor in front of this masterpiece and draw dozens of versions of parts of this urban scene - not knowing I'd paint it dozens of times thirty years later.

My favorite feature of this new piece is the man on the far right, on his way out. I have wanted to add more movement in figures - a slight blur or even a ghost of a shape - just knowing when it's right is the tough part.



And knowing how to get the idea across, without looking like my hand smudged the paint unintentionally is even harder. It's something I'm working on more and more, mostly behind the scenes.

Please click here for a larger view.