House in Pasadena

This is yet another "house" painting that I have recently completed. Entitled "House in Pasadena," it is a compilation of images I photographed during my vacation to Southern California in September 2008.

The structure in the painting is based on a home I saw on Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, CA. The house itself was in the middle of a major renovation, and had windows removed and sections of wall under construction. Based on the style, I estimate it was originally constructed in the early 1900s. When I developed the composition for the canvas, I chose to add a background of distant mountain peaks reminiscent of the ones I had seen surrounding the Pasadena area. I also inserted a palm tree in dark silhouette, and improvised the night setting. I spent several sessions working up the lighting in the second-story window and the front porch area, and also creating the right reflections in the darker windows. This canvas was one of twenty that was featured in my solo exhibition at the Burke Arts Council in May of this year.

"House in Pasadena." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed January 2009.