Christmas On 8th Pt2

 

Rex Beanland, Christmas On 8th, watercolour, 20 x 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rex Beanland, photo of 8th Ave, Calgary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the painting that I just demoed today at Paintworks Art Studio in Okotoks. It was a great workshop and it was very enjoyable meeting new people.

After I got the painting home I added a number of finishing touches.  It’s a little wild and wooly but I quite like it.  It certainly was a great experience trying to turn this scene, which is in reality a fairly simple one point perspective exercise into a watercolour lesson and teach it.   The most significant element I added was the people  and the car and trying to use them to create a story.

The bright red banners are visually a neat element.  I used cad red light gouache to paint them opaquely on top of all the other paint.

Christmas On 8th Pt2
watercolour
20 x 15

8 thoughts on “Christmas On 8th Pt2

  1. Shelley

    Incredible painting, Rex. I love so much about this painting, I don’t know where to start….if I HAD to though, it would be the drybrushing technique on the banners and the incredible sense of depth. Really neat use of both mediums.

    Reply
    1. Rex Beanland Post author

      Wow, thanks Shelley. This painting was done during a workshop I gave out in Okotoks last Saturday. Because of the nature of the class by the end I was just swinging for the fences. Maybe some of that came through. Rex

      Reply
  2. Shelley

    Hi Rex,
    I’m still looking at this painting!! Another thing I like about it is the vertical composition. It brings the 2 sides of the street close together somehow and adds to the Chrismasy/wintery feel of it, if that makes sense. Even though its very evocative of Calgary, there is something almost old-world about this image, and I think the vertical composition helps make a wide street narrower and perhaps more old-fashioned. I really love the nostalgic feel of it, and it’s so interesting that you did this with downtown Calgary. Long live Stephen Avenue!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Shelley Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *