In the foreground is a tall, glass building and in the distance is Busch Stadium. As the afternoon passes, I see light shining in a variety of ways, reflecting off broad walls of glass, and I record the color of the moment.  I want to simplify structures to their essential characters, rather than render a detailed portrayal. 

 

The Arch and the Courthouse, portrayed here in grey winter light, are the two defining points in St. Louis. The octagonal courthouse, with its four  wings and dome is very interesting to paint. The St. Louis Arch diminishes all other structures.

 

Divisions such as those created by the bridge and highway might divide a painting into disjointed fragments. But, here the diagonal line of the bridge and the horizontal highway are made to form an arrow, taking the eye toward the purple building, a verticle, which blends into and combines with blue sky and water, and allows the eye to slide down to the courthouse with its dome.

 

From the 30th floor of a highrise, you feel weather as well as observe it. In this painting a storm is rolling in and this storm was spectacular!  At times I could see the storm and at times, the storm would close in and I could see nothing. I painted the essence of the powerplant across the river during a relative reprieve. I worked quickly, with vigorous free strokes capturing the feeling of the moment. If I had had more time, I could not have made the same painting. The style of this painting sucessfully conveys the power and enormity of this weather.

 

 

This scene is observed from the 30th story, allowing me a wide view of the landscape. The building in the front right was interesting to paint as it sits on a platform of street-level shops and a parking garage. This building is also an odd shape, creating interesting reflections and a play of light against the broad low roofs. The wide range of the reds and oranges in the forground define those structures as near while the tan is the distance is more uniform, giving the landscape depth. The river and bridge bring your eye back to the foregroud, unifying the piece. The orange crane in the center (centered both two-dimensionally and three-dimensionally) achors the whole painting.

 

On 6th Street in St. Louis, on this wintery, late afternoon, clouds are moving in. You can see down into the street as well as out toward lighter colored building and green fields in the distance. Fewer value changes in the distance, a light middle ground and darker, largerer shapes in the foregound create space without undo reliance on mechanical perspective.