Trina's page of Blogginess: The Completed "Taxi" Painting

"Taxi"
2013
oil on canvas
24 x 24 inches

I completed my latest painting, "Taxi" yesterday afternoon. I'm very pleased with how this one turned out. The process was quite interesting, and different from the other paintings that I've done so far. This painting was completed in five sessions, which is a bit surprising, as I assumed it would take longer when I first started. This painting relied a lot on perspective, and I'm pleased that I was able to manage to keep the correct perspective throughout. It was certainly a challenge! I really love the colors and composition of this piece.

During the last session, the work was spread throughout the entire painting. I made a lot of corrections to the taxi - most notably, I darkened the bumper, and added a bit more detail throughout. I adjusted some of the colors and lines throughout the overhead structure. I think it reads more clearly now. I did a lot of work on the light highlights on the street, as well as on the cab, and up above. I brightened up the areas around the on/off ramp in the distance. Finally, I added the final touches of the street signs and the taxi sign and license plate.

~~I need to do one last thing once the paint dries: I need to darken the U-turn sign a bit, since it's in the shadow, and is a little too bright right now.~~ (Done) Other than that, it's done, so I signed it. I'll need to varnish it once it's dry as well.

Here's the process:

The original photo was taken by my friend, Miguel (and used with his permission).

The original photo

Miguel posted it in Instagram, where he cropped the original photo, and added a filter.

Miguel's Instagram

I was so struck by Miguel's Instagram image - that's when I asked his permission to paint it. I cropped it again, and added an additional filter.

Trina's Instagram

The composition took a while to lay out on the blank canvas. I wanted to make sure that the perspective was correct before painting.

pencil sketch on the canvas

By Dean's suggestion, I did my first two sessions in only monochromatic colors so that I could concentrate on the perspective, lights and darks, and shapes of the compositions, rather than worry about color.