Where’s He Going With This?

Artists, Blog

I’m a member of the Franklin Art Association and every month a guest artist does a demonstration at the group meeting.  Not being a painter and thus knowing little more than there is a brush and paint involved (and canvas?) many of the demos go over my head.  Tonight’s session was different, featuring the lively, vibrant work of Adam O’Day.

He did not start with a blank canvas, but instead with a rich orange underpainting.  Wait, I thought this was supposed to be a Boston night scene!  What’s this splash of color doing?

Sit back and watch, Dale.

But it got brighter, with broad strokes of yellow green and salmon blocking out smaller sections of the canvas on top of that already colorful initial glow of paint. How is this going to turn into a night scene?

Finally out came the blacks.  Ah, now it is coming together: a variety of narrow sponges and scrapers blocked in darker Hancock and other landmark buildings, gridding in windows that were lit from within/beneath from that preparatory color base. Angled darker, but far from dark, lines and brush swoops caused the road to appear and lead into that simple but complex background of buildings.

Those initial random-seeming paint swaths were far from random, instead each purposefully placed without being formulaic and in an hour and a half a delightful piece came together, something that will draw your eye in repeatedly, seeing something new in it each time.  Any work on our walls needs to be worth more than an occasional glance but instead deeper study and appreciation, and Adam’s result certainly qualified.

Thank you, Adam, for a delightful lesson!

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