Saturday, March 13, 2010

March Virtual Paintout - Stavanger Norway

8x10 inches, watercolor (sold)

We returned from our eight day adventure in Italy on Monday evening, and both of us are still waking up at 4:00 AM every morning.  My daily routines, including working out and painting, are as disrupted as my sleep, and only the fact that I swore I would paint for Bill Guffey's Virtual Paintout (see sidebar for link) got me up and moving on this one.

As usual, I spent at least an hour wandering around the required area on Google Street View, and when I found this road I knew I had what I wanted.  This shot is in Norway, but it looks like a view of farms in southern Wisconsin.  I liked the strong shadows, and was charmed by the dog trotting down the country road.  I grew up on a farm with a long gravel driveway, and I recognized the ruts left by tires.  It took me longer to realize that the strong shadow on the right side of the road is a cast shadow from a tree out of the frame.

I plan to paint from some of the reference photos I took in Tuscany and Venice, but I think that in the next few days I'll just post some of the photos.

7 comments:

laura said...

This is truly gorgeous--I love the shapes and colors; there's something, to me, Hopper-like in it. And the dog is enchanting, so lively!! Great painting all around.
I wandered around Stavanger, but though I spent a lot of time, and really expected to, I didn't happen on a scene I wanted to paint! :-(

Charlene Brown said...

In all the time I spent driving around Stavanger on Google Streetview, I didn't happen across this delightful little dog, but I'm glad you did. What a lovely painting!

Marthann's Musings said...

Very beautiful picture. I love the soft look it has. Well done.

Anonymous said...

The dog is precious ... I love his movement. Great job.

Neon Fog said...

I love the mood and feeling of this piece. I want be wherever this place is.

Joan said...

I'm jealous that you were visiting Italy!!!! I found your painting on the VPO site and just wanted to come and comment. I love the dog in the painting, It gives it such life. It is amazing how you can be in Norway and it looks just like places you know at home.

Angela Sullivan said...

Love this painting especially the blue shadows.