Urban Landscapes

Presently my art examines urban life: how different cultures live and interact in the city. Urban landscapes feature locations that have a creative vibe where people gather to work, play and express their cultures.

Some paintings show present and the past neighbourhoods scenes showing historic buildings rendered in their original condition. Other paintings feature buildings in disrepair showing better days gone by. Scenes of restaurants, boutiques and coffee houses viewed from the street. Store fronts with business signs, murals and graffiti.

My process has evolved over many years: experimenting in different art mediums and subjects. Life drawing establishes the foundation in all art forms I have worked in: chalk pastel in figurative studies; painting in oils working on landscapes of local scenes and abstract landscapes; and watercolour painting. Subjects during this time ranged from landscapes in oils, and experimenting in abstract and figurative works.

My diverse portfolio including different visual art positions. Starting with classic animation drawing working on TV specials, I moved into commercial art as a paste up artist; as well as a film stripper and label designer in the printing industry. This knowledge fuelled my career as a self employed graphic designer, illustration artist, and website creator.

Visiting a location with an interesting urban feeling I walk around the space and take pictures. Afterwords the image is placed on a large screen computer and decisions are made on the direction of the painting. Revisions are made as I look at the shapes and colours and clear details for a strong composition. A colour print is made of the revised photo and then used as reference while painting.

My interest in painting urban scenes began while walking in different neighbourhoods in 2020 during the Covid lockdown. While visiting more locations it became a catalyst to explore life in the city and to develop a series of detailed paintings in watercolour. Taking many photographs assisted in capturing details of the scene, observing that each neighbourhood had their own unique vibe. Using photo software was used to modify the images and aided the composition and then was printed out and used as reference during painting. The process of creating the watercolour painting starts first by drafting in pencil and then adding transparent colours to illustrate the feeling into the urban landscape.

Detailed watercolours document urban landscapes that express diverse cultures inhabiting that space.

Photo taken for painting reference.

The painting process starts when the image is transferred into pencil line placed on acid free professional quality watercolour paper. Keeping it simple I use a basic colour watercolour palette, this aids in mixing and blending different colours and hues to create more depth. Painting starts by lightly adding in the shades.