Vineland Drive- In
Oil 8x10
Went out with old painting student and sometime assistant Bill Moore; see his link under my links for his painting. His helping me in the morning gave us the excuse to go out painting in the afternoon. This is out in the city of industry . I think drive in's survive in poorer areas by having four screens, they are also making a mini comeback as kids have no place to make out anymore. Knowing the light was going to get good and the shadows long later, I waited until the last to do the foreground along with deliberately making the background darker than it was when I started. You might call this a form of "Anticipating the Light" only recommended to the very confident painter.
posted by william wray at 1:45 PM
37 Comments:
Again, very strong painting William. I love your choice of subject matter.
My wife and I are moving to L.A this September, and I can't wait to start a new life of sketching, I'll have California to discover.
I love it, if for nothing other than that it's a drive-in. Growing up in the indoor-theaters-only era, I've longed for drive-in dys to make a comeback to be able to experience that nostalgia. I'd love to do the make-out thing, but we'd probably end up having our daughter with us, and she'd be a mood-killer.
Seriously, though, damn good picture, and good job with the railroad tracks--it really makes your eyes go all around the picture to get everything.
Yikes, you are scary-good. These last two have a confidence about them that really comes across.
Great composition, too!
I love that bit of blue on top of the tracks set against the rest of the warm colors in the painting. Again you've brought out the beauty in the discarded and dilapidated!
Beautiful painting! You are right about the skiil it takes for catching the light. Gotta be quick and precise. That skill comes with lots of PA hours and frequency. Don't know if I should mention this but the real painting's color is spectacular.. the scanned version is good and then some, but only goes so far.
Great composition, and your drafting skills are great as always. I'm starting a new series of paintings in San Francisco of views from Buena Vista Park. It's a challenge, finding that balance between draftsmanship in representing architecture and the looseness, near abstract I'd like to capture. Need to study your work...
Great great great, brings back old memories..sandy
I caught your comment to Shawn in the previous post, when is your book coming out?
William I really love this one - the colors you have chosen to express the time and place are haunting -
great stuff bill! your colors and sense of light have gotten amazing since i last saw!
Aha, I see. Thanks for sharing your thinking here. You are the master of time of day painting.
I like how the rails reflect the sky so vividly, the polished steel mirrors that they are. This painting is a beautiful balance of warms and cools.
I just read Doug's comment. A book?
hi, Bill. great painting!!!
i've linked your site to my blog
ciao!!!
ivan
Hi William, these two last pieces are so good. Your use of color and your draftmanship are so great.
Your comment on Tom Kidds "Plein Air Cheat" is wonderful and so right. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers..Nue!
Ya know, I figure one day there will be no drive-ins at all. I wanted my 2 daughters to experience a drive in so I took them here to the Vineland...we saw Spiderman 1 and Spykids, bought stuff at the snack bar and had a great time. Every kid should know what it's like to wrap up in a blanket and stare up into a big black sky and see a movie as large as a building.
This painting will bring a smile and lots of memories to everyone who has ever been to a Drive-In.
Ron
Hey Stef--
Just in time for my one man show. We will definitely enroll you into the
L. A. River school of art. Art you going to work for Disney or DreamWorks?
BG yeah kids with all there pesky birds and the bee's questions. Maybe a demo is better than an awkward conversation.
Leslie-- Yes I'm pretty happy with them. I don't like the latest quite as much, but can't wait to paint again.
jared-- that's were the train polishes the rail-- the sides are rusty of course.
hey WK get that monitor adjusted. ;-)
Ed that's very kind of you to say-- I'm looking foward to your new series.
Yes Sandy those were happy times-- One of the few family outings we did as it was cheap.
Hey BG the book sould be out in about 2 months-- Maybe sooner.
thanks Cara-- I really felt good that day --total absorption of the day and felt the beauty flow in and the creation flow out. Sounds pretensihious I guess...
Hey William,
I'm staying at Disney.
I'm very exciting about moving to California, from rainy London to sunny L.A!
What is the L.A river school of Art?
I love the Drive-In! Takes one back to another time. There's a local drive in to us, that's actually doing gangbusters business because another factor in their rise again is that a family of five can all see two popular movies for $15 for the carload. Can't beat that. All of your stuff is extremely nice Bill. Discovered you via Tom Kidd. I do my own blog as well of outdoor paintings as well as projects in progress. Worked in animation too, conceptual art on Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius and The Ant Bully, and the unmade Seahorse all were alot of fun. But I too like outdoor painting and some imagined landscapes.
thatks Kin-- same back at ya!
Hey Tom-- Yeah a book-- I'm working with Alberto Ruiz who's putting together a bunch of hard cover art books for mostly comic book animation guys. It will be nice to have especially when it comes to interviewing at galleries. I won't have to send slides into oblivion anymore.
thanks Ivan-- looks like you are carrying that Jack Davis Wolverton torch.
Hey Stefan,
Thanks, I'm a bit brash about my theories, I speaking of my own experiences, but feel some observations my be useful to others.
Ron as long as there are poor working class people there will be. and who know maybe that class will be growing soon.
Stef! I made it up-- but I'm refering to the local artists who paint in and around it.
Hey Bob-- thanks for stopping by-- Your a talented painter, but your selling your work to cheap--! Makes it tough on the rest of us. Bil Stout always harpped on me about that.
Ray Zone writes:
Great subject for a painting. Drive-in is all about light (and shadow) itself. Cool trick to wait for light you want in separate section of painting to come up or "down". I continue to be impressed by your work. Stay loose!
wonderfull painting. Lucky man! enjoy the california light...
http://gry.vince.over-blog.com/
really happy for the discovery of your work
Thanks Ray--I haven't painted one I like as much as this one since. So many factors to get right in a good painting.
Thanks Vinsdevil-- tried to post at you site but no luck--
Thanks Vinsdevil-- tried to post at you site but no luck--
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