Wednesday

It's a little cold out today, but at least it's sunny.

I broke out the Amsterdam painting again and worked on the sky and background buildings. Another one of those logistical operations. Do the background first then I can put some masts over the top.


There are quite a few boats in the canals of Amsterdam that have their masts up, so I will want to add those in here and there.

They are usually on a pivoting system, so in the event one wishes to leave on a trip, all you need to do is remove the ballast from the very bottom of the mast and it collapses down. Without this feature, you may be taking out a few bridges in the process. I started out with the domed building left of center and worked my way farther back, to try and define some of the architecture, which makes Amsterdam so unique.


I then moved onto the bridge and painted hints of the railings and a few objects in and around it. There is also a bridge behind it that I want to add in, this will give the canal a little more depth.


The trees to the right under the tower were then defined more. So now with the background complete I can move up the right bank adding a little more color to the trees as I go, this will give the illusion of atmosphere. I may still come back later and add some more blue to the very background if it need to be pushed farther into the distance.



You can see some of the buildings being added to the right side, and at the same time I add some darker values under the trees to give the illusion of the buildings behind. Still I want to keep that area very simple back there, or else it will compete with the boats in the canal.

I found out that each Boat is a residential address with a mailbox and parking stall out front. They are sold as real estate, the same as one of the houses next to the canal. You are not only buying the boat, which may be over a hundred years old, but also the location where it is moored. I was painting a view similar to this once and one of the owners walked up and invited me on board for a beer. He filled me in on all the inside real estate info for buying and selling boats in Amsterdam. I just had to make sure to keep my head low inside, they are not know to be spacious!


Finally I darkened down the trees more on the right, it's getting late in the afternoon now and I need to run a few pieces down to the local gallery. Tomorrow I will work again on the right side and see if I can finish off all the trees and buildings. That will leave just the boats and water for the following day.

Richard Boyer