The French Riviera, 20

day 1: planning the destination
We're going to the French Riviera, and I found some lively activity along the long stretch of the Promenade Robert Schuman, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France.

day 2: capturing the selected image
OK, this is kind of interesting: I had saved the Google image (w/the young man) a few months ago, yet when I went back there today, the scene has been updated. Those Google camera people do get around:
June 2008 Google image: young man carrying yellow chairs
July 2012 Google image: a row of yellow chairs
Well anyway, my painting will be based on the image w/young man

Google image comparison of same place along French Riviera, 4 years apart

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)
Here it is, the guide for my painting.

Photoshop composition of the Google Street View, to paint

day 4: the finished painting
"Yellow Chairs" was painted on a relatively textured prepared canvas panel, which I think works well with this scene. Love the shadow shapes of the chairs.

"Yellow Chairs" is for sale (and w/more photos too): https://www.etsy.com/listing/164226319

"YELLOW CHAIRS", 8x10" Original Oil Painting by puci

day 5: a day (or more) of rest
Enjoy your rest somewhere along this beach, as you hopefully find your place in the sun.

(click on the "older posts" link for more creative travel.)

Resting Up, 19

I awoke from a good nap thinking about this blog, and have decided to modify the number of blog posts. Instead of 1 post per day leading up to each finished painting, you'll be seeing 1 BIG post every 5-7 days. We'll see how it goes...

Whoever is out there (and a shout-out to my 1 follower so far tyvm!), thanks for taking the time to check in to my "A Street View A Day" project. I'm committed to keeping it going for at least 1 year.

Salute! ~puci
www.darlenepucilloart.com

The Finished Painting: Woman of the Dunes,19

day 4: the finished painting
I'm especially pleased with how the woman turned out.
With just a few brush strokes she emerged in her expressive stride as she communes with the dunes.

"Woman of the Dunes" is for sale (with more photos too): https://www.etsy.com/listing/163646632

"Woman of the Dunes", 8x10" Original Oil Painting by puci

Photoshop Revisions: San Francisco Ocean Beach, 19

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)
Here's the Google Street View image I've chosen for the painting. Thanks to this woman who happened to be walking along the dunes at just the right time...

Photoshop Revision, Woman on The Dunes, San Francisco Ocean Beach

Google Street Views: San Francisco Ocean Beach, California, 19

day 2: capturing the selected image

Crude as these images might be, I found something special in each. So, I'll decide on one and clean it up in Adobe Photoshop.

4 Google Street Views of the Ocean Beach area of San Francisco, CA

Destination: San Francisco CA (Ocean Beach), 19

day 1: planning the destination
We're heading to San Francisco. We're going to Ocean Beach :-)

Resting Up, 18

day 5: a day (or more) of rest
Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th' encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me…  ~ j.h.newman

The Finished Painting: Lighthouse of Cape Alguhas, 18

day 4: the finished painting

           ... and the finished painting!

"Lighthouse of Cape Alguhas" is for sale (with more photos too): https://www.etsy.com/listing/163251790

"Lighthouse of Cape Alguhas", 8x10" Original Oil Painting by puci

Photoshop Revisions: Cape Agulhus 18

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)
This is it: my guide for the painting

Google Street Views: Cape Agulhas, South Africa 18

day 2: capturing the selected image
We are standing at the southernmost tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas, and the beacon standing tall is the Cape Agulhas lighthouse.

Cape Agulhas LightHouse, Southernmost tip of Africa

Destination: Cape Agulhas, South Africa 18

day 1: planning the destination
Well, the last 5-step series on Fukushima was pretty intense, wouldn't you say? So, I'm thinking that a light house might be a good counterbalance…

Resting Up, 17

day 5: a day (or more) of rest

The Finished Painting: "Fukushima, Message In A Bottle" 17

day 4: the finished painting
I'm used to building my paintings around one main area of importance. But I wanted the bottles and the fruit to share the limelight equally here, with all the other elements subordinate to this theme of the cycle of life/decay & rebirth. (Your comments are always welcomed.)

"Fukushima, Message In A Bottle" has been sold.

"FUKUSHIMA, MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE",  8x10" Original Oil Painting by puci

Photoshop Revisions: Fukushima, Japan 17

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)
This composition is meant to be more metaphoric than a stark rendering of destruction:
~ Nature, it seems, carries on.
~ The sad condition of the roof & the fermenting fruit is an indication of homes abandoned & lives lost.
~ The standing bottles are meant to be messengers of warning. The fallen and open bottle was once home to the wicked genie-in-the-bottle, which we have unleashed; it's havoc is yet to be known.

Photoshop composition for the Fukushima painting

Google Street Views: Fukushima, Japan 17

day 2: capturing the selected images

some images of the Fukushima devastation, March 2013 via Google Street Views

the painting will be based on a combination of these 2 images

Destination: Fukushima, Japan 17

day 1: planning the destination
The news last month ~an update about the amount of radiation leaking from a Fukushima nuclear storage tank into the ground~ is not good. The initial nuclear accident was, as we know, the result of the devastating earthquake & tsunami of March 11, 2011.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397918/Fukushima-crisis-Japan-raise-toxic-leak-warning-tsunami-hit-nuclear-plant.html

So I wondered just how much of the visual devastation I might actually be able to see some 2+ years later. As it is, the Google camera people came through this area very recently, in March 2013, so the image quality is relatively good.

I spent a long time surveying the area via Google Street Views, initially looking for some visual samples of "deconstructive art". But the vision I now have for the painting is quite different...

the Daini Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima Prefecture

Resting Up, 16

day 5: a day (or more) of rest
"A line is a dot that goes for a walk."  Paul Klee

The Finished Painting: "Homeward Bound" 16

day 4: the finished painting
Well, since the 2 figures are too small for much of any detail, yet since they are such an important part of the painting, I had to dig into my bag-o'-tricks to make sure they are indeed the focal point of the painting. So, I used a thick build-up of white on the woman's shirt; made sure the setting around them had warm tones; angled the trees & highlights to be "pointing" to them; and created some stark contrasts with hard edges. The idea is to have lots of interesting stuff going on, so the viewer's eye keeps moving around the whole painting but keeps coming back to them and around again.

I like to think this painting tells a story too:
~ Has this elderly woman had her beloved companion since he/she was a pup?
~ They both look tired, so are probably going home. What kind of home do they share? Who will get the first drink of water, the woman or the dog?

"Homeward Bound" is for sale (with more photos too): https://www.etsy.com/listing/162026641/

"HOMEWARD BOUND", 8x10" Original Oil Painting by puci

Photoshop Revisions: Golden Gate Park 16

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)
Painting this scene will bring me right back there, and will hopefully provide for you the essence of the serene beauty to be found in Golden Gate Park.

Photoshop revision of Google Street View, Golden Gate Park

Google Street Views: Golden Gate Park 16

day 2: Capturing the selected image
Have I mentioned that I grew up just across the street from Golden Gate Park? My little dog Alfie & I found many special spots in that huge urban wilderness. The path along John F. Kennedy Drive led us right to the ocean. The north (Dutch) windmill still stands; it was my landmark beacon proclaiming that Ocean Beach was just a few hundred feet away.

So of course, when I found this scene of the woman&dog close to this windmill along John F. Kennedy Drive, I knew I had found my image to paint. I'll create the composition in the 10x8" tall format, so that the woman&dog will be even more dwarfed by the giant (Monterey?) pine trees. Yet, they will remain the focal point not only because of the tonal contrast but because the way they are strolling together so tenderly captures the viewers mind and imagination so vividly.

Here's some interesting stuff about the windmills:
http://www.golden-gate-park.com/windmills.html

the Google Street View image, Golden Gate Park; inspiration for the painting-to-be

Destination: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 16

day 1: planning the destination
Wow, we really did rest up (3 days) after our New York trip. September has slid into home plate like Matt Williams of the San Francisco Giants ...and speaking of San Francisco, guess where our next virtual hop, skip and jump will take us?

(Btw, I decided to slightly alter the titles of each of the 5 Street-View-A-Day steps.)

The green strip that is Golden Gate Park in San Francisco