Paint the Town - followup

It wasn't easy!! I am obviously not destined to be an "on-site" artist!

When I drew the location from a jar the night before, my first thought was that this wouldn't be too difficult. Hah!! To begin with, a series of pickup trucks parked directly in front of me for the entire time. One would leave and another would pull in. Being in a high traffic area, it was a steady stream of people stopping to chat and ask questions. I love to socialize but the clock was ticking faster than my paintbrush was painting. The wind blew through the passageway offering a cooling respite to the day's heat and also drying my paint as soon as I squeezed it onto the palette. Clumps of colour were appearing on the canvas! Then the palette(a white plate) shifted and crashed to the ground, splintering into a thousand shards! That meant cleanup with a borrowed broom & dustpan from Fitzy's and a trip to the store for a new plastic palette.

By the time that John came to pick me up at 1:45pm, after 5 3/4 hours onsite,  I was thoroughly discouraged and uncertain how to proceed with the painting. At home, I withdrew to the cool of the basement and considered my options: 1. throw it in the garbage, 2. cut it up and throw it in the garbage, 3. set it on fire before throwing it in the garbage.

The final solution, in a rare moment of clarity, was to eliminate the buildings on both sides. This gave the building an ethereal look with the clouds and wind about to move it from its foundations. Then the idea of collaging came to mind.  Images of people from other cultures were applied to reflect the Film Festival's use of the building. On the far left is an image of musical instruments to represent staged concerts.

At 4pm, as requested, I dropped the finished painting at the Art Gallery, drove home and went to bed.

It is very clear to me that my paintings have to be well thought out in advance. No more "flying by the seat of my pants"!!