Beautiful Oakland

Oakland Rotunda

If you think Oakland is some sort of sad, poverty-stricken town, you're not looking carefully enough. There are so many beautiful places, people and ideas swirling around. The Rotunda was renovated in 2011 and is a fantastic example of Oakland's slow and steady revival. 

"Helium"

12 x 18" 

Watercolor on Arches 300 lb. paper

"Janet's Shoes"

12 x 17"

watercolor on 140 lb. Arches watercolor paper

Janet and I used to dance together when we were young. While I went on to other activities she stuck with it, and over the years has kept many pairs of shoes and her beautiful traditional tutu. She and I worked through dozens of photographs in hopes of finding just the right composition, balance of objects and mood to bring this image to fruition. 

This shows my progression from that infamous white "canvas" to the final painting. This is the second time I've painted this subject and I loved doing it just as much as the first. The different textures of the tulle, satin shoes and subtle color variations were a rewarding challenge.