Painting at night (sort of) again

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Return to New York for the evening

Watercolour, crayon and marker

©2014 Charlene Brown

Night scenes are fun to paint as they provide new opportunities to experiment – especially if you’re just guessing at what the street lighting might look like. 
I’ve painted about 50 Google Streetviews on The Virtual Paintout, and have noticed that there are (understandably) very few dimly-lit Streetviews to choose from, so I’ve been re-painting some of my previous paintings as night scenes, in this case a 2010 Virtual Paintout in Manhattan. Here is the link to it on Google Streetview.   

Four-dimensional geometry

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Projective geometry

Watercolour, crayon and Photoshop™

©2014 Charlene Brown

The projection, or shadow, model of four-dimensional geometry first appeared in the 19^th century. Mathematicians derived and rendered amazingly complex projections of three-dimensional geometric figures, using basic rules of perspective drawing.

In Shadows of Reality, Tony Robbin suggests that Minkowski had four-dimensional projective geometry in mind when he structured special relativity, and Picasso used the projection model to invent cubism.

It is now possible to computer-generate n-dimensional figures relatively easily. However, I think free-hand renderings are more useful if you’re trying to visualize the concept of multi-dimensionality in order to understand the principles of quantum physics. And they’re certainly more fun.

A new favourite place in Banff

The Hot Pools at Hidden Ridge

Watercolour and crayon

©2014 Charlene Brown

Friends who still ski regularly have told us there’s nothing better than a soak in a hot pool after a cold day on the slopes… But I’m here to say that a soak in a hot pool about 30 years after your last cold day on the slopes is much better, especially if it’s first thing in the morning, before all those sporty Boomers arrive.

This was painted from a photo taken at about 9 am on a day when the temperature was -30 C and the pools were still in the shadow of Rundle Mountain. Isn't it just perfect!

Getting Christmas tidied away before Easter

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Christmas in Banff

Watercolour and crayon

©2014 Charlene Brown

I’ve been contemplating the demise (or maybe just the delay in starting) most of my New Year’s Resolutions... but am encouraged by the successful completion of at least one.  That is to tidy Christmas away, so I can get on with the projects that got put on hold for the holidays.

I had been planning to post this picture, painted from a photo taken during some last minute Christmas shopping, sometime next December… but then decided to use it to brag to you all that I've rounded up all the stray holly berries and parts of handmade Christmas things that fall apart, put away decorations, filed special cards and letters, and written thank you notes.  

And painted a Christmas picture.

Virtual Paintout on Cape Cod

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From Salt Works Road

Watercolour

©2014 Charlene Brown

The Virtual Paintout is on Cape Cod this month.  

I’ve never been to Cape Cod, but have often heard references to ‘Cape Cod cottage’ style… so I set off on Google Streetview with some pretty definite ideas about what features I was looking for. And I wanted the place with all the appropriate Cape Cod cottage characteristics to be rather larger than a cottage, and to have a nice ocean view.

I soon learned that most of the nice big ‘cottages’ have so many trees you can barely see the house, much less any sign of the ocean, and painted the first exception to this rule.  Here is a link to it.