Tuesday, September 10, 2013

SPANGLER MILL CONSTRUCTION By Cecelia Lyden



oil/canvasboard

11x14
www.cecelialyden.com

I first came upon this monstrosity of a building while driving on Spangler Mill Road, seeking paint sites. I was winding down a curvy, narrow road, when, wham, up popped this huge structure on my left, sitting right on the road. I pulled into an empty lot across the street to carefully study it- not very pretty, but amazing sculptural shapes and volumes. This was not the picturesque landscape I was seeking, but I still wanted to paint it.
I came back to the site with two other artists, early, on a sunny morning. We all agreed it was an interesting subject, but, as artists do, we took different approaches. One artist painted a long view of the building, with emphasis on the trees and bushes around it. The other artist seemed interested in the shadows on the shapes, using pinks and purples. I was interested in how the small and medium shapes  appeared to grow out of the larger shapes, as well as the morning light and shadows, emphasizing the building's sculptural qualities. I also wished to convey my initial reaction of surprise at the sight of this massive structure, which was, so inartistically, plopped right on the edge of the road.

4 comments:

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

Nice post!
It looks massive, and the work is only 11x14!

Christine Marx said...

Wow Cecilia,

This is just beautiful! I love it - especially the shadowed areas.

Awesome!

Cecelia Lyden said...

Thanks Sue and Christine--Sue, this building IS massive and so sculptural and Christine-it's amazing to me how such an ugly building can be so interesting and beautiful.

Dianne Lorden said...

This was an interesting write up, Cecelia. It's an artsy, appealing sort of ugly, now that youv'e painted it.