Cityscape: Perfecting Street Scene Perspective by Brian … · Cityscape: Perfecting Street Scene...

4/3/2014 Drawing Perspective, Landscape Painting, Brian Keeler, Cityscape, Art | Artist's Network

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Cityscape: Perfecting Street Scene Perspective by Brian Keeler

In this cityscape, our goals are to show the meeting of nineteenth-century architecture and today, show ing old

buildings contrasted in the reflections on a modern car, while demonstrating one-point perspective. In this scene,

the midday sun was also creating interesting effects and bringing out the geometric designs of the buildings,

which contrasted w ith the fluid curvilinear reflections on the car.

Step One

1. Mind perspective as you sketch

Working on a canvas tinted w ith Raw Sienna acrylic, begin the draw ing w ith Burnt Umber paint. The draw ing

stage here requires a lot of work and attention to details. This is essentially one-point perspective, w ith the

vanishing point indicated w ith an “X” above the car’s luggage rack on the passenger side.

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Step Two

2. Establish a light to start

Start the painting stage by blocking in the light of the building on the right (I used Chromium Oxide Green, Naples

Yellow and white to achieve the desired hue). Also begin to work on the signage. I particularly like the slant of

light coming through the drugstore sign.



Step Three

3. Block in and mass the darks

Start blocking in the shadow areas. This scene lends itself to painting because of the nice division of light and

dark. It is helpful to try to mass the darks so they are more or less consistent in value. Use Burnt Umber w ith

Phthalo Green and sometimes Venetian Red to create a sort of low -chroma, even nondescript shadow. For

shadows, sometimes we increase the intensity as the Impressionists were known to do; at other times, as I did

here, we exaggerate the mystery by keeping them less defined, w ith thinner paint and less detail.



Step Four

4. St art t he car

Start to work on the reflected surface of the car in the foreground. The patterns of distorted reflections in the car

add to the appeal of this image. Use a variety of blues, but keep them toned down or of minimized intensity. In

the shadow area, use Ultramarine Blue w ith Burnt Umber and perhaps some Prussian Blue. In the light areas, the

blue is a mixture of Cerulean Blue, white and Alizarin Crimson. In the w indshield, the mauve is achieved by adding

more Alizarin Crimson or Permanent Rose.



Step Five

5. Begin t he sky and st reet

Now block in the large areas of the sky and the street. While painting these, it is important to keep in mind the

value relationships, determining what is light against dark or dark against light. For the sky, use Cobalt Blue,

Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue and white in varying degrees. The street is sunlit and light in value, a warm gray

comprised of white, Burnt Umber, Chromium Oxide Green and Yellow Ochre.



Step Six

6. Work on det ails and building cont rast

Begin developing the woman hailing the cab and articulating details in the buildings and the car in the foreground.

For the car, add some darker accents and increase the chroma in certain colors. Now articulate some of the

details of the reflected buildings in the hood. The orange in the hood of the car in step 5 was still the undercoat

show ing through, and here I have painted this area. The steering wheel remains as the tinted undercoat and serves

well as it is, w ith only minor additions. Push the highlights, adding glints in the mirror and the trim of the car.

The sky has had several layers of pigment added, and at this stage you want to move to

a cooler blue, which means adding more Ultramarine Blue while darkening the value at

the top. Darken the building on the right using Burnt Umber and perhaps some Venetian

Red.



Hailing the Cab (oil on linen, 26×30) by Brian Keeler

7. Bring t he forms t o fruit ion

In this final stage, continue to develop details and model form. Add some color to the cabs in the background

and interject some lavender-like colors into the pavement. Make the sidewalk on the right darker and cooler w ith

Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber, to contrast it w ith the sunlit street.

One of the challenges of this painting was that I was using two references that were not

in complete agreement. This necessitated manipulating and inventing the perspective in

the car in order to get the orthogonals to lead toward the vanishing point. There is

somewhat of a distortion caused by the wide-angle lens used for the photo reference,

which in this case warps and makes the perspective lines curvilinear. ~Brian Keeler

Cityscape: Perfecting Street Scene Perspective by Brian … · Cityscape: Perfecting Street Scene...

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