A Final Frigid Umbrella

"Union Square, Winter," oil on panel, 12x9, private collection

Like previously posted paintings involving umbrellas, this one is in a private collection. But unlike the others this painting is a winter scene. It's actually Union Square in Manhattan, during a snowstorm. In this one my goal was to give viewers the essence of the scene, suggesting buildings and lights dimly visible through the driving snow. Making the wall more detailed and explicit helps the illusion. Further, it's difficult to say which direction the figure is moving--either ducking into the wind or strolling with the wind behind.

---

Other Umbrellas Posted:

Red Umbrella 

Pink Umbrella

Dark Umbrella

Saturday Sketch

The warm weather has made Saturday sketching considerably easier. Not long ago another edition of the group spent time in an older, upscale neighborhood drawing and painting. I chose this house, which looks like it was designed in the 1930s. 

Umbrella Number 3

"On the Ferry," oil on panel, 6x8, private collection

This painting is a very small work that was done as a study. My original intent was to make a much larger work but as things go that intent wasn't fulfilled. Still, this little work sold long ago. It's another example of how popular umbrellas have been, in my works at least.
 

Evergreen Sunrise

"Sunrise in Redmond," wc/ink on paper,

When I'm traveling, one of my habits is to take along watercolor materials. I send postcards home from various locales (often with foreign postmarks) that show friends and family what we're up to. And I often keep a pocket sketchbook for notations of what I see. 

This little watercolor was done at dawn in Redmond, Washington. The sun was just below the horizon when I began. As always this started as a small graphite sketch to which I added watercolor, then accentuated with waterproof ink.
 

Another Umbrella

"The Pink Umbrella," oil on panel, 8x10, private collection

Another painting involving an umbrella, also sold long ago. This one is a rainy day seen from above, from a very modified photo reference.

Saturday

When the weather is blustery or snowy the sketch group still goes out to draw but most do it from their cars. Now that the season has finally turned here in Iowa we've been more and more able to work completely outside. Last weekend was a good example--sunny, moderately warm, and not too windy. We went to Grays Lake where the trees are in full leaf and there's a good view of downtown. 

'From Grays Lake," wc/ink on paper

The Red Umbrella

"The Red Umbrella," oil on panel, 6x8, private collection

One of the genres of painting that interests me is figurative works, but not figure studies so much as figures in the streets. For a number of years, figurative pieces like The Red Umbrella often featured umbrellas. Umbrellas are often synonymous with rain or blustery weather, but sometimes a decorated umbrella might shade a hot dog stand or another street vendor. In any event, I've been surprised by how popular umbrellas seem to be. This small work was a study for a larger piece that never reached the easel. It's a nocturne of a narrow street in Rome. Light from a shop window throws the figure and her umbrella into view.

Sketchers Outing

Although we're well into May, last Saturday was still cool and a bit raw with grey skies and a sense that winter was trying to return. The Saturday sketchers went out as usual, though, but I stayed in my car to make a small water color of a venerable performance venue here in Des Moines, Hoyt Sherman Place. It's the former home of a brother of the famous general William T. Sherman (Civil War). This Sherman was a businessman who made a fortune here in Iowa. His mansion and the attached auditorium are now run by the Des Moines Womens Club. It's also home to a big art exhibition every February. 

"Hoyt Sherman Place," wc/ink, about 5x10

Morning, Afternoon, and Evening

"Morning, Afternoon, Evening (triptych)," oil on panel, each 6x8

This is a triptych of a bottle half full of water, painted in early morning, the middle of the day, and toward evening. The differences in the light were what interested me.