Back To "London Times" Rainy Street Scene

"London Times," 24"h x 36"w, oil on linen, ©Jill Banks 2011

I really enjoyed coming back to this painting ... of the rainy street in Covent Garden from Randy and my April trip to London. This was "the moment" from the evening with incredible reflections of the lights on pavement. While painting it, I've been thinking about a very nice meal we ate outside under the awning at Spaghetti House near the end of our journey.  For almost our whole trip, there was sunshine. I figured that I could rely on London to provide some wet streets. Perhaps the sunny weather was meant to make us go back another time.

Go to my web site gallery page and click on the Places Gallery to see more of my street and restaurant scenes from Italy, New York, Maryland, California and Virginia.

I'm still using a really limited palette, a la Kevin MacPherson's landscape sketch colors. I see it unifying the grays of the street, helping me to simplify the scene.

I put up two posts today. The first was "In the News" that has a listing of upcoming/current events for August. I hope to see you at some of those!

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Rainy Early Evening in London" Painting in Progress

"Rainy Early Evening in London" work in progress, 18"h x 24"w, oil on linen, copyright Jill Banks 2011

In April, Randy and I spent about two weeks in London ... with just two days with a little rain. On the second to last night, we ate out under the awning at Covent Gardens with this brief shower in the early evening. I loved the red reflections and the couple under the umbrella on the left. Perfect light and night.

I was having some difficulty painting today. Actually started working on another piece that was started in plein air, but couldn't make myself happy with it. Switched gears and started this one. This start was done primarily with a palette knife -- concentrating on large shapes and simplification. There's already a LOT of paint on there. Today was the day to make a mess and I was wearing a good amount of reds, bluish grays and white. Quite patriotic.

Today was also the first day in a while that I wasn't running at top speed to try to get "too much" accomplished. That was very nice, for a change.

Today is also the birthday of my top artist agent -- my mom. Happy Birthday, Mom!

My 100 Faces in 100 Days exhibit at the Great Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, VA is about to close. Tomorrow, Saturday, May 28 would be a good day to see it as the library will be closed Sunday and Monday. I hope you have a chance to take a look.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project: www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435