Saturday, July 08, 2006

Illustration Friday -- Skyline


This week, I thought I would try the oil paints in ArtRage 2.

I originally started my Illustration Friday topic with a NYC skyline that included the World Trade Center towers. I was excited about doing this classic skyline at first since Cathie and I are going there at the end of this month. Then I got depressed about doing that particular scene and decided that I wanted to do something a bit more cheerful.

I'm not sure if it necessarily cheerful, but in the end, I chose a skyline from Beach 6 at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. The cheerful part came because Cathie, the boys, and I were there over Memorial Day weekend and I remembered this was how the skyline looks. We had a blast and everyone was happy playing in the COLD water and sand.

Growing up in Erie, I remember going there when I was a kid and there were no stone monuments blocking the view of the boats that were out in the lake. I even remember on a clear day you could see Canada.

I guess you could say, "Skylines are like life. You never know when and how much they will change."

17 comments:

verniciousknids said...

This skyline reminds you of family and good times - for me, it means adventure and excitement...as you don't know what lies in store!

Anonymous said...

Super job! I love the colors and the beautiful flow of the water! Really lovely piece!

Lou said...

VK: Good point. Many exciting things can lie beyond those barriers.

A: Thanks. I sort of feel like I cheated since I could hit the undo key, whereas you would have to do whatever you do to remove a mistake on your paintings. And no worries about not being around. I can understand.

Catraven: Thanks. I enjoyed doing this one. There were many great memories (both old and new) surrounding this one to inspire me.

HARDWAX said...

Sounds like you guys had a great time. I love this, the perspective and the simple, playful beauty. I can sit here and imagine all the light and carefree moments experienced. Wonderful piece, and always interesting!

The Unknown said...

Beautiful.
love

Tony LaRocca said...

This reminds me of a line from a Fawlty Towers episode:
"I expect to be able to see the sea!"
"You CAN see the sea- it's over there, between the land & the sky!"

Anonymous said...

Beautiful skyline! Everything has changed at P.I., except for the making of memories...that will always remain constant. Also, remember when you were in the water and could actually see your feet?
Catching up on yours and Cathie's blogs....haven't been on the computer for awhile.
As usual......excellent work!

Kim de Young said...

I like your analogy. This is such a nice peaceful and simple painting. It must be viewed bigger to see the fun brush strokes. My favorite part is the rocks, you did a really nice job on them

Lee said...

very pretty lou...the colors and texture really add to the overall scene...:)

Patrick said...

Nice textures and colors- cool stuff indeed!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, one of my very favorite skylines... I love the view at our beach. So many memories from when we were kids, and now new memories with my own kids!

Twisselman said...

Beautiful skyline... and your doodles below got me interested in ArtRage... followed the link. May need to check it out. Looks like you've gotten some very cool painterly effects out of it.

Our family took our one and only trip to NY in '99. There are pix of us at the Statue of Liberty (when you could still climb to her crown) with the skyline in the background. We're all smiling, but the pix with the Trade Center are very hard to look at.

Tricky Trev said...

A lot of fun movement in this piece. Great line work and excellent color palette. I'll shut up now because I'm sounding like an art professor.

PS: I miss the beach. :(

steve said...

Yes Lou--I love presque isle!! Wow, it's been some time since I've been there. What a great place and great digi-painting!!!

Margaret said...

Sweet! Did you ever read about the Lake Erie mirage theory?

http://www.physorg.com/news73536110.html

They say at just the right time and under the right conditions you can see the skyline of Cleveland 50 miles away. Awesome!

Take care! Margie

Kim de Young said...

Where are you! Come back to IF!

Andrea said...

Lou ~ no posts since July, you okay?