Have you heard the blackbird's song?
Summer days, all summer long
–TMBG, "Lullaby to Nightmares"
I was supposed to be somewhere near Taft Road today but none of the scenery spoke to me, so I went further north up the road, perhaps a bit too close to the cemetery from yesterday, but the intersection of Highway 33 and Old Portage Road and County Road 64 looked pretty interesting, so I parked the van and checked out the area.
–TMBG, "Lullaby to Nightmares"
I was supposed to be somewhere near Taft Road today but none of the scenery spoke to me, so I went further north up the road, perhaps a bit too close to the cemetery from yesterday, but the intersection of Highway 33 and Old Portage Road and County Road 64 looked pretty interesting, so I parked the van and checked out the area.
I like good design.
I first walked across the street to have a look at the great sign for Westfall Memorial Park, then walked around to the various buildings at the vicinity of the intersection. Despite its unintended prominence in the photo above, I have absolutely zero interest in painting any sign with that County logo on it.
I like backlighting.
The image above would make an interesting painting, but I would have to use that photo as reference (which is my normal MO) and I have to work from life for this project. I could have painted the traffic lights from life, but the sun wouldn't have been in the same position even in the few minutes it would have taken for me to get and set up my gear.
I like fish & chips.
That's George's Fish & Chips, but I can't give you a review since I didn't eat there. And it's unfortunate for me that time is of the essence and my breaks are abnormally short for this project because I love fish & chips. I had a sad little peanut butter sandwich instead.
I like chunky tech.
Then I noticed this really fascinating and visually interesting contraption on the side of a lamppost, but, again, I would prefer to use this photo for reference to take advantage of the fleeting lighting (and the lens distortion, which adds a nice element).
I like Coke signs.
Then I saw this convenience store with a pretty cool Coke sign, but the sun was behind it and the shop itself didn't have enough overall visual interest for me today, so I moved on. I did meet the owner of the house this was attached to, a retired schoolteacher who also ran the now-closed Village Store with her husband We had a nice chat about my project and the history of the house, which happens to be in the background of my painting for today.
I like the backs of signs.
I initially settled on the composition in the top sketch because all the signs were blank on this side, their info facing northbound traffic, and I liked that crooked sign a lot. But there was this awesome little office/shack thing that begged me to be my subject of the day.
The composition in the bottom sketch was okay, with that dead tree being wonderfully backlit like the traffic lights, but the three-quarter vantage from the opposite side was the best option considering the challenge of dealing with the changing sunlight.
And here's the painting.
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