Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River Reflections, 30” x 40”, Oil on Canvas
LA River Reflections, 18” x 24”, Pastel on paper
Recently, I decided to make an oil painting from an older pastel that I did on site at the Los Angeles River about twenty years ago. The Los Angeles River is a unique and beautiful place with many opportunities to focus on the changing light and color patterns reflecting on large concrete structures. The simplicity of forms in the LA River allows for an emphasis to be placed on color as opposed to the drawing challenges required in dealing with more complex subjects. The only reference I had for the painting was this one pastel (I had no photographs). I knew that I would need to develop certain details and textures from imagination, memory or other similar paintings I completed. I enjoy this kind of challenge because these limitations allow for creative decision making while working.
There were several reasons that I decided to re-create this image. First, I felt that the composition in the original pastel was strong enough to make a good painting (even if detail and complexity is somewhat reduced). The interplay of angles in the image created a nice harmony of two-dimensional shape patterns and at the same time there was still a strong sense of illusionistic space through the linear perspective seen on the receding concrete forms. I also wanted to more fully realize this pictorial idea as the initial pastel was never actually completed. A lot of my location work is in an incomplete state due to time constraints, however, I find that I often return to these initial cursory studies using them develop new works studio or on site. Finally, I was interested to discover how this image would look when translated onto a larger format. The monumentality of the concrete flood channels take on a greater sense of scale when they fill the viewers field of vision on a larger canvas.
This image was recently juried into the California Art Club’s 112 Gold Medal Exhibit and I am looking forward to the opportunity to display it at the Bower’s Museum in July 2023.