the making of paintings to celebrate!

a time to celebrate

a fun filled painting of downtown annapolis, 2022

the copper dome in all it's splendor, congratulations 2022!

This whole thing started when a firstie reached out to me asking if I could make a painting that nodded to this celebratory NORMAL season on the Yard, especially if it was indicative of 2022. He pointed out that it's the first time since 2020 that restrictions have been lifted and the graduation season will feel like it typically does.

It came at just the right time and I had to respond creatively.

how it started

My first instinct was to consider the copper dome of the chapel. It is a unique period of time the dome is this color, and I had the idea to fill the painting with mids in whites, as well as exaggerate the glow of copper in the dome.

(In real life, it's a little more muted, but I really wanted to let it glow for this painting

But there was more...

As I worked through ideas, I could not get the casual sun-filled afternoon in downtown Annapolis out of my head.

DTA in the spring is one of the happiest places. There's a sense of relief and accomplishment- the hard winter is over, the town is alive again, and the midshipmen are wrapping up a year full of challenges, eager for the change in pace that comes with summer and new responsibilites.

It's fun.

The painting challenge

This idea was going to take some edits. How to merge all these ideas into a single painting? How should the location make a good painting but also make sense locationally? I wrestled with this idea and finally came to a made up composition that is not directly identical to real life, but includes major elements of DTA while also providing a lot of space for the humans that make it so full of life.

I’ve tried to capture this feeling for years and what I was falling short in was the LIFE in it all. The little girl (modeled after my daughter 🙃) feeding ducks. The grumpy white haired couple looking for a place to eat. The gesture of a child’s feet when they eat ice cream. The imperfection and the unideal. The things that make us human.

Years of live wedding painting informed my approach. I made up the scene and used those hard earned experiences to solve problems in a less rigid subject matter.

One solution I wrestled with in this painting was how to simplify the middle ground behind the people in a way that made sense but also didn’t distract. The warm green offered a nice contrast to the skin tones and allowed me to push and pull how light/dark it was as the scene needed it. It was imbalanced with lights on the right side, and pulling in that similar color to the trees in the middle helped resolve that.

I oscillated between both paintings, letting my eyes and mind rest between each. The chapel painting was more direct and simple compared to the downtown Annapolis piece, but still presented new problems to solve.

First, I made up the path that lead midshipmen walking for the sake of the composition. The point was to highlight the copper dome as well as the bundle of people, so I let the composition inform.

The most fun part was emphasizing the color of the copper. In real life, it’s a little more muted, but as a painter, I get to play… so I did :). I also had a great time playing with brushwork and color on the mids.

how to order prints

Do you love these pieces and want a print for yourself? Click here for each!