SAN FRANCISCO VICTORIAN

This is my interpretation of the latest DSFDF challenge put on by Karin Jurick. You can see the photo and all the other renditions of it here. I love the Victorian houses in San Francisco, but this photo just didn't do much for me. I decided to change the colors on the house and give some contrast in the sky and windows. I did it smaller than the other DSFDF paintings I've done and figured just a couple of hours would do it, but I spent more like 6 hours. If I'd known it was going to take that long, I'd have been more careful on my drawing. I'm not very happy with it, probably more the drawing than anything. I have been printing out a print to paint from as I can't get the internet on the computer in my studio. After painting it, I see a lot of things in the photo I wasn't seeing correctly.

The fact that the photo didn't inspire me made me do a different painting than I would if it was something I chose to paint from one of my photos or in plein air. When I paint from one of my photos, there is that memory of the feeling I had when I took the picture, a wish to depict what I saw at that time. Without that personal connection with the image, I am definitely painting differently, changing things, actually putting more thought into the outcome. My husband said that people will probably wonder why I'm painting such things.... his kind way of telling me he's wondering why. At that point, I was wondering why too, but now know that besides the fact that I like a challenge, it is a great learning experience. It is like an assignment in a class. I've tried not to peek at the paintings done before mine but when I have, it has made me try harder to do my best. Later, looking at all the others, I've learned so much. Putting mine out there for people to see is a new thing too. Though I've put my work on my blog before, I've never gotten much traffic. Getting positive comments has been a real plus.