Capturing Small Town Charm

Big cities have plenty of excitement and activity, not to mention crime and pollution. But for charm you are more likely to find it in a small town. DeLand, Florida is a small town that is bursting with charm. Our little plein air painting group has no trouble finding paintable spots in and around DeLand. This past week we visited the train station.

The day was overcast which made it semi comfortable for us. Otherwise with no shade available we would have been at the mercy of the hot Florida sun.
I started by toning my canvas with yellow. Maybe I was trying to compensate for the lack of sun?
Then I started on the drawing using thinned paint and lifting out some areas with a paper towel.
Some people were on the platform briefly so I quickly put in some ghost images of them which I tweaked later.
I paid extra attention to the perspective. I need to get it right to make everything work.
At one point a train came barreling through and blew my canvas off the easel. Next time I'll hang on to it more tightly!


                                          

Back in the studio I decided that the building was a little too grey and could do with some warmth. So I added some ochre, tightened up the rails and deepened some of the shadows to help punch up the values.

The Depot - oil - 9"x 12" - $370 - Leah Wiedemer