Sold

Bright Sunday Afternoon was painted in 2009 during the summer. I spent three months at the artists’ residency at Billings Forge Community Works. This is a painting of the northern most section of the building, as seen from my studio space.

Two very important elements in this painting liken it to Edward Hopper’s Early Sunday Morning, a long time favorite of mine. First, the composition in Bright Sunday Afternoon almost completely mimics the major elements in Hopper’s painting. This likeness occurred naturally after I started studying and sketching the Billings Forge building one day. My drawings instantly reminded me of that particular Hopper. I looked it up and found that without changing too much, both compositions would line up quite evenly.

Like Hopper’s, sunlight plays a characteristic role in the defining this painting. The light is a tool used to indicate the time of day and set a mood that creates a familiar setting viewers can immediately relate to their own experience.

However, unlike Hopper I incorporated a touch of ‘scumbling’ (light tones of paint variably applied over dark tones) to really make the painting shimmer.