The completed "Pool #2" painting

"Pool #2"
2013
oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches

yay! I completed my newest oil painting today!

I'm calling it, "Pool #2", since the last painting I did was "Pool", and they are kind of a series.

I suppose I could have called this "T Chow #1 Pool", since this one is of my sister, and the other one is of me. :)

But, I digress...

Happy to have another painting done. This one was completed in 4 sessions.

Today, I concentrated on lightening the whole piece (mostly the water in the bottom left corner, but really, all over), since I had three individuals tell me that it was too dark after last week's session. I think it looks much better (and hope you do, too!).

One big change was that I changed the shape of the shadow in the top right corner. It was originally a shadow of a patio cover, which I know because I took the photo, but it wasn't so obvious in the painting what it was. Dean suggested that I change the shape to that of a patio umbrella - a shape that most people would recognize by the shadow. I think it was a brilliant idea, and worked really well.

I also worked on "grounding" the little pink ball in the water (Thanks, Jose!). I added a reflection of it on the water, and also brought the darker blue color from the side of the jacuzzi down. I think it reads better now.

The biggest change of the day was the water in the main pool. There was a fine balance that needed to be found to reflect those squiggly reflections of lights. It was definitely a challenge, and I hope it works.

Last but not least, I changed the color of the hot pink in the hat to a softer pink. It was standing out too much before, even though it matched the color in the original photo. I think this works better with the composition.

Time to figure out the next painting! :)


original photo


session 1


session 2


session 3


session 4