A New York Minute, 37

day 5: a day (or more) of rest
"A New York minute is an instant. Or, as Johnny Carson once said, it's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn." ~from The Urban Dictionary


day 4: the finished painting
You'll find my painting (using my full name, Darlene Pucillo) among lots of lively & lovely other paintings on the Daily Paintworks page. This painting has less value contrasts than I had initially intended, but I kind of like the way it appears as though the sun has momentary broken through some clouds to shine upon this New York minute.

This painting is for sale via Daily Paintworks: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/challenge/the-busy-city-challenge/229

A NEW YORK MINUTE, 8x8" original oil painting by puci

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)

I moved some things around a bit and created some pinkish tones to suggest approaching dusk.

My composition using Photoshop

day 2: capturing the selected image
This image was not taken from Google Maps/Google Street Views, but was taken by the wonderful painter Carol Marine. Further, she's using it as the basis for her painting challenge called "The Busy City Challenge", where any artist may enter an interpretation of this photo in their own style. Pretty cooll!

Photo by Carol Marine

day 1: planning the destination

We're in the Big Apple, Baby!

Puci's Vermeer, 36

day 5: a day (or more) of rest

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

day 4: the finished painting

I'm kind of excited about this painting. It's a good example, I think, of what this blog project is all about:

transforming inspiring images from virtual world travel into original paintings (with lots of room for experimentation too).

This painting has been sold

"Puci's Vermeer", 8x10" original oil painting by puci

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)

One of the things that attracted me to Mr. McCloud's image was the the light streaming in, "Like a Vermeer painting", I thought. Then the idea hit me to place the girl, child and dog INTO a Vermeer painting!
Vermeer's painting: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jan_Vermeer_van_Delft_008.jpg 

day 2: capturing the selected image

Somehow in my online searches about India, I came upon Kevin McCloud's documentary video called, "Slumming It": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0tHRs9Bng and you can see the still shot (below/bottom) from this video that caught my eye. 

Then I found similar Google Street View images. (even the dog looks the same --can you see him in the upper right image, laying in the shade?) and decided to go with Mr. McCloud's more visually rich image to base this painting on. 

day 1: planning the destination

We're on our way to India, a rich land of much diversity.  

The Stones Speak, (Joshua Tree National Park), 35

day 5: a day (or more) of rest

"I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion."
~ Yohji Yamamoto

day 4: the finished painting

Although my goal was to finish this painting in one session, it required two. I just couldn't seem to get those shadow rock "folds" looking bulbous-yet-solid. So, I let the oil paints dry long enough to paint on another layer. (This is one of the pleasures of painting in oils; oil paints are very yielding and forgiving.) As I painted, some lesser areas of interest called out for more attention. Overall, I think it works.

This painting is sale in my online store (with more photos too): https://www.etsy.com/listing/185937454

THE STONES SPEAK, 8x10" original oil painting by puci

day 3: creating the pre-painting composition (using Adobe Photoshop)

I cropped in fairly close (avoiding the "big bum" rock). The most intriguing area to me is where that one stone appears to be folding in on itself, sorta like Jabba The Hutt of StarWars fame.

day 2: capturing the selected image

I took many screen shots of various views within Joshua Tree, and finally settled for this one I found along Indian Cove Road in the Mojave Desert of California USA. Here's the link that will get you there: http://goo.gl/maps/rzOVY

day 1: planning the destination

My husband spotted some amazing land formations while searching for a specific locale within Joshua Tree National Park. He called me to the computer, knowing that I'd be excited by these magnificent stones.