Painted this quickie off of a reference photo taken on a work trip.
For the past few years, have taken a trip with my wife’s family to a train station in Jim Thorpe, PA, to ride a steam locomotive. As we were waiting for the ride to begin, I snapped a shot of my son. Love the way the sunlight created these warm highlights on his face. Started out just drawing his face and body without the background, but my wife encouraged me to finish off the background detail – glad she did.
Took the reference shot for this pencil drawing while on a family vacation in Orlando. Was at one of the parks at night. Pink, yellow, and blue lights were creating some real funky highlights. The girls were starting to get stir crazy – had them pose for at least a dozen shots. Got this reference shot toward the end when the girls were starting to get silly. Wanted this to have a psychedelic, early `70’s vibe.
For me, nothing beats a Jersey Shore boardwalk – Mack & Manco’s Pizza (now Manco & Manco’s), Johnson’s Popcorn, hitting a few rides, catching a movie at the strand… Could be content people watching on the boardwalk for hours.
Wonderland Pier – any kid who’s been to Ocean City, New Jersey has blown some time on their rides. My favorites are the carousel and giant swing. Never tire of watching the time-honored tradition of kids scrambling to track down their flip flops when the Giant Swing slows to a stop.
Stacey and I had a blast on our first trip to Paris. Especially liked the glitz of the area surrounding the Moulin Rouge – the giant neon windmill, the Art Deco architecture of the Metropolitain Stations, and the endless parade of night owls cruising the street. Caught this area one night just at the right time – daylight was fading but the area was just waking up.
My wife and I made our first trip to Paris December of ’03. On our first day in Paris, we practically devoured the city – walking from one end to the other in our attempt to make sure we didn’t miss anything. It was cold and bone-chillingly damp – we froze our butts off. The Eiffel Tower was more awe-inspiring than I realized it would be. The upper platform of the tower was barely visible through the low-ceiling – it seemed to be reminding us of how tall it really was – the low ceiling that day emphasized it’s height. It was both beautiful and humbling. Cruising past the tower, we stumbled upon an antique carousel, it’s warm lights a seeming oasis in the cold. The contrasts of the image – the carousel against the Eiffel Tower struck me. Warmth and cold, light and dark, familiar and unfamiliar. There were people all around us – on the street, near the carousel – yet we felt like we were the only people in the world taking it all in. I knew I needed to capture those contrasts on canvas.
Stacey and I had a blast on our first trip to Paris. Especially liked the glitz of the area surrounding the Moulin Rouge – the giant neon windmill, the Art Deco architecture of the Metropolitain Stations, and the endless parade of night owls cruising the street. Caught this area one night just at the right time – daylight was fading but the area was just waking up.
For me, nothing beats a Jersey Shore boardwalk – Mack & Manco’s Pizza (now Manco & Manco’s), Johnson’s Popcorn, hitting a few rides, catching a movie at the strand… Could be content people watching on the boardwalk for hours.
Wonderland Pier – any kid who’s been to Ocean City, New Jersey has blown some time on their rides. My favorites are the carousel and giant swing. Never tire of watching the time-honored tradition of kids scrambling to track down their flip flops when the Giant Swing slows to a stop.
