Not done with Shanghai yet as I discovered an old ink sketch I had done while strolling at the boulevard of the Bund last year, of the iconic Pudong skyscrapers view across the river.
So this painting is born, with colours, shapes and all, in impressionistic style as that was what struck me the most, of this distant surreal view of the financial district, especially the distinctive Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠塔) that gives a natural anchor to the landscape.
And the across-river distant view remains the nicest as actually being in Pudong itself was not that much fun for me, too modern or too futuristic, depending on how you look at it ;p I still prefer the historic buildings at the Bund, so Pudong will remain at that, abstract distant impressions :)
Title: Shanghai Pudong 上海浦东 (O102)
Description: Surreal impressionistic painting of Shanghai Pudong with expressive strokes, colours and shapes depicting the iconic city skyscrapers of the river landscape in abstract. China 2014.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 76cm.
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com
On a latte afternoon.. that was the feeling given me by Girona, a city in northeast Catalonia Spain. A photographer's paradise, historical architectural gems a-plenty, lyrical botanical gardens, not outrageously stunning, but quiet and soothing. Dancers on the cathedral steps, a spontaneous street band by the river, a lady with a baby pram strolls by, a wedding couple posing for their most precious moments, the sounds of celebration, nobody's in a hurry, all inter-mixing like a lyrical dance play, alluring and addictive, much like the many ice-cream palours on its streets :)
So that was how I painted Girona..
Title: On A Latte Afternoon (O76)
Description: On a latte afternoon, a chance mix of passer-bys and dancers on the street, lulling on the medieval stone steps, fleeting amongst the ancient buildings of a beautiful historic jewish quarter, much like a hypnotic dream or a lyrical play, therein lies the charms of Girona. Spain Vignettes 2012.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 61cm.
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com
I thought I was done with painting Spain but a re-visit this year traversing the aragon pyrenees to the south rekindled the passion, and so it was that I started with the most memorable place that embellishes itself into my mind, and heart, forever.. Ainsa.
A little village in the Camino Aragones (see my Spain Camino series), Ainsa was once the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Sobarbe. With a colourful tumultous history, the town saw in turn the imprints of the Celts, the Romans, the Muslims and finally, the Christians in the Reconquest of the Middle Ages. I fell in love with it at first sight, drawn to its beckoning mystique and sense of history, and knowing that I would paint it, I went about taking postcard pictures :)
Strangely this was a canvas that I had tried painting a city landscape that didn't quite work. On impulse, I painted over it straight, and either the colours of the original canvas, or my strong emotions on reminiscing Ainsa, took over. It was pure delirium to translate the aura of Ainsa on canvas. And thus, the happy result where I discovered a colour tone that I have not used before but sets out the feel of the medieval architecture perfectly.
Title: Ainsa (O71)
Description: A is for Ainsa, a little village in the Camino Aragones, once the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Sobarbe and seeing the imprints in turn of the Celts, the Romans, the Muslims and the Christians in the Reconquest of the Middle Ages. I fell in love with it at first sight, drawn to its aura of mystique and history, and knew that I would paint it. Spain Vignettes 2011.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 61cm.
SOLD.
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