Pages

Monday 30 August 2010

The Virtual Paintout - August Challenge

I was rather angry with myself for not submitting a painting to the Virtual Paintout Challenge last month because the delicious location was Hong Kong. Hong Kong has all those incredibly seductive back roads and neon lights, a painter's delight, and I was hoping to find something similar to get to grips with for this month's challenge, but Prince Edward Island in spite of all its pristine beauty, doesn't seem to have a "wrong side of town". Most places do have a more 'interesting' and downtrodden sector of their urban landscape. On my 'tour' of Prince Edward Island I scoured for something a little different from the endless greenery with houses all in a seemingly homogenized vernacular and I eventually settled on a shopfront with complicated reflections and a glowing interior. The screenshot I take from the actual photograph is always a little more diffused than the original scene on Google Maps, obviously, but in one way that adds to the possibilities of painterly fun, but this one was a bit more complicated than I had anticipated so it took longer. I always do that and must stop! Maybe if I painted on a smaller format and was more spontaneous I could save time and send in more than one entry to this best of all blog challenges for artists. Thanks again to Bill Guffey and The Virtual Paintout for this challenge! If you are new to this challenge, I encourage you to go to Bill's blog and see the interview he had with CBC Connect, Canadian Television for a super round-up of this month's challenge. Wonderful and well-deserved publicity and some of the paintings are up as well.

"Shopfront - Queen Street, Charlotteville, PEI, Canada"
Oil on Gessoed Board - 12" x 12"

Scene painted from Google Maps with permission.

Google Map link to this scene.

Screenshot of actual scene.

12 comments:

Chartan said...

FANTASTIC! you are a true artist! (and blogger). It's wonderful, much better than the actual place, and I'm so impressed you spent some time and found a place of interest. I just gave up... the endless roads, the endless greenery LOL....

sarah meredith said...

This is terrific and I liked reading the explanation for why you chose this scene. Couldn't agree more about the Virtual Paintout. Bill Guffey really gives the first of each month something extra to look forward to!

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Charlotte!! Yes, PEI a bit the same all over for our greedy eyes. Good feeling for me to be called an true artist. I was just thinking today how lucky I am (or WE are)to live in the internet age as blogging is immediate access for me and a lot of fun.

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Sarah and thanks for stopping by. I think I would be a little lost without this challenge - I wonder where he'll take us next. All the best.

Phillip Holt said...

Anne, This is a wonderful painting, I thought it was an abstract until I dropped on your blog. Glad you included the reference photo your painting is actually very realistic. Beautiful colors and composition.
Phil

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Phillip! I've just realised how much I enjoyed painting this even though it took me longer than I intended. Just goes to show you never can tell! ATB.

Ruth said...

Anne, interesting perspective. Makes a striking first impression. Then one has to stop and enjoy all the delicious nuances. Good choice of subject. I found much "greenery" on PEI, but that's what PEI is, so having been there I wasn't surprised that Google didn't give too many different subjects. Although the submissions are showing some unique "differences". I, too, enjoy this challenge.

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Ruth. I agree that this month's challenge has brought up some very unique responses and that's what makes it such a pleasure to participate - seeing others' work as well as one's own!

Autumn Leaves said...

Very nice, Anne! Well done indeed!

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Sherry!

artybecca said...

Your painting caught my eye and I clicked over to see what you said about it. Nice painting and I agree, it was hard to find a scene that "grabbed me" on PEI. I didn't have time anyway this month -- hoping to get back on track in Sept!

Anne C M Campbell said...

artybecca: thanks for stopping by and your compliment. I hope to see you on the next VPO challenge!