Boston Sidewalk Cafe

Beacon Hill Corner

Boston is a beautiful city, my birthplace and even still to this day, one of my favorite day trips.    A few weeks ago we were driving through the Back Bay enjoying the old brick architecture and pretty sidewalk businesses.  I snapped a photo of this little cafe with red market umbrellas and a flurry of people passing by.   The light patterns caught my eye, especially the lit pattern of light on the brick patio.  When I saw the photo uploaded, I thought it had the potential to be an interesting painting.


Boston Sidewalk Cafe Line Drawing

The first thing I did was crop the photo.  I worked on creating a composition that had good balance - I think. I made some changes to the placement of certain figures.   The young man with the baseball hat had been just about walking out of the scene in the photo.   I decided to move him to the left so that he is walking into the scene and hopefully taking the viewer into the scene too.  






Boston Sidewalk Cafe Early Stages

 I used a 20 x 24 inch canvas that I stretched onto solid wood, a nice sturdy, solid surface which I am starting to like best.

Some things that I think make this a decent composition are 1) Strong light and shadow masses, 2) Variation in the groupings of people, 3)  Use of triangles, large and nested that anchor the major points of interest, 4) Soft edges for supporting painting content, while the main subject has sharp contrast and edges and 5) Several areas of interest that should give the viewer plenty to look at after taking in the first impression.

Boston Sidewalk Cafe Nearly Final Stage

I have been working on this painting for several weeks and am finally ready to put it out for comment.   I would love to hear what you like and what you don't like about it.