Central Park Ice Rink

"Central Park Ice Rink"

Day 19

6"x8" oil on canvas panel

$75.00

January sure is marching on!  Cannot believe I am already at day 19 of painting 30 paintings in 30 days.  I truly am enjoying myself and one of the best things is that I am learning new things about myself and what I can do with my art.  None of these are masterpieces but some are quick studies and some take longer to complete but I am still learning something new each day.  I am greatly influenced by so many other artists and am continually inspired by them.  

Here is another of my daughter-in-law Leah's photos.  She ingeniously put together a soft-bound photo book of about 58 photos from our weekend in New York City to give each of us as a Christmas present.  I just love looking at it!  She used a site called Artifact Uprising to put it together.  Of course, I had never heard of it but that is nothing new. The photo quality is superb. You might want to check it out!

While we were on our carriage ride through Central Park we all were snapping photos and she caught a glimpse of the skating rink through the trees with part of the New York skyline in the distance.  There can be a painting everywhere you look.  

Riding Through Central Park

"Riding Through Central Park"

Day 15

8"x6" oil on canvas panel

$75.00

The inspiration for this painting came from our carriage ride through Central Park.  I have been painting so many city sidewalks and buildings for this 30 day challenge and this was a nice diversion to add a splash of nature into the mix.  

I think this painting shows the much needed balance of the hardscapes and steel structures against the calming forces of nature.  As I have said before, New York City is blessed to have so many welcoming green spaces scattered throughout this vibrant city that provide a welcome respite for all to take advantage of.  

Central Park View

"Central Park View"

Day 10

6"x8" oil on canvas panel

$75.00

Today I felt the need to play with my palette knife and be loose and carefree.  I am learning that the hard edges and angles needed to define buildings are cramping my style!  I normally paint landscapes which allow me to be much looser than the angles of buildings require.

One afternoon we did something that has been on my bucket list of things to do while in New York City...take a Central Park carriage ride!  It was so nice to sit and enjoy the scenery and learn a little about what we were seeing such as the history and purpose of what some of the structures are and what movies and television shows were filmed in certain locations of the park.  We also learned which celebrities had apartments in which buildings overlooking the park.  I shot many photos from our horse-drawn carriage so you may see some more of these.

I really loved playing today and learned a lot.  That is one of the things that this challenge is supposed to do.