"Girl with the Pink Umbrella/Caltrain" Painting

"Girl with the Pink Umbrella/Caltrain"
2015
oil on canvas
20 x 20 inches

I'm so pleased with how this painting came out. I finished it last Tuesday in San Francisco, but just returned to Bellevue last night. My computer is here in Bellevue, so I can now string together all the photos to show the progress of the painting over the last few months.

I worked on this painting in Dean's studio in San Francisco, so the dates that we were able to get together for my sessions were limited by both of our availability.

The fabulous Miguel took the original photo and posted it on Instagram over a year ago. As always, I requested his permission to paint the image. I loved the colors and composition of the photo, and I especially loved the girl holding the pink umbrella!


Miguel's original photo

I started this painting way back in early March. During that session, I drew the outline of the composition, first in pencil, then in paint. It's a fair time to make the obvious statement that I continue to be drawn towards compositions with lots of perspective in them.


drawing out the grid to transfer the image to canvas with pencil


a quick outline of the image in paint


the end of session one

Because of our mutual busy schedules, the next time I was able to have a painting session with Dean wasn't until the end of May. During this session, I worked on filling in the sky, the train, the area to the right of the train, the yellow stripes, and finally the people.


end of session two

My third session on this painting wouldn't be able to happen until another three months! I was so happy to get back to it. Here, I was able to focus on the figures.


end of session three

My fourth session was just a month later, and I was able to build on the momentum of the last session. At this point, I was able to work out more details (the umbrella, the train, the tracks, etc., and also put more color into the sky and the platform).


end of session four

My fifth, and last session with this painting was just over a month later. I fixed some of the details, like the angle of the windows on the side of the train, and also softened the dark lines on the girl's trench-coat. I also lightened up the platform floor near the figures and lightened the sky a bit around the train.


end of the fifth and final session


the final painting next to the original photograph

I really love how this painting turned out. I love the colors and the atmosphere that they create. And, if I had to choose a particular part of this painting that I love the most, I think it would be the pink umbrella. :)