Painting L.A. Gritty Business July 23, 2011

Points of Light, Skidrow

Laying in the Motif

Painting on location, en plein air, at night, is already fraught with challenges; on this night we'd found an extremely incredible motif, to which we were abruptly kicked out, and prevented from painting. Fortunately for us we were permitted to paint from the hotel rooftop next door, overlooking Skidrow. but the guard limited us to only one hour painting time.

We had to make quick decisions; set up our gear, and paint, all within that one hour window.  It was good practice, I guess, to produce a painting this way.

I made a decision on my motif, began to sketch it in, and lay in the masses. I chose one solitary light reflecting down on a rooftop, as my focal
point. just as I started to lay in the masses, the light went out. Now I had to make a decision to continue and work from memory, Or forget painting that night. I chose the former.

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Photos: T.Van Stein