Skating on the Frog Pond Boston Common

Skating on the Frog Pond Boston Common - Stage One

Boston is a lively metropolis, even when the temperatures are frigid.    During the Christmas break we enjoyed an overnight stay downtown.  Among the many fun things we did was attending an exciting Bruins win, munching on 50 cent oysters on Broad Street, and walking to the Boston Guild of Artists on Newbury Street.  
 


Skating on the Frog Pond Boston Common - Stage Two

As we walked through the Boston Common we took lots of pictures.  The frozen Frog Pond was loaded with skaters so we stopped and watched for a while.  The low angle of the sun created a bright glare off the ice with figures and their shadows skating in perfect unison (haha).  The Prudential Building and the Taj Hotel tower are seen in the background comprising a scene that would make a classic Boston postcard.

This painting was done from a photograph, not the ideal way to capture an outdoor scene.   I didn't have my paints on the trip, but what I did use for the sky and tree line colors reference were some recent outdoor December landscapes.  They were much redder than the photograph.

The colors and values of the pyramid shaped roofs of the skating complex made for a careful exercise in relationships.  I'd call the local color aqua, but there were shifts in value and color based on the sun, sky and reflection.  Imagine that they were numbered 1 through 5, from left to right, and here is what I noted about each of these "planes" which in turn helped make decisions about how to modify the basic aqua color.

1) most sunlit - added naples yellow,
2) plane more influenced by sky (ie more blue) and less by sun, slightly darker value, some reflected light by sunlit #3,
3) some sunlight but steeper slope than #1 results in similar color but darker value,

Skating on the Frog Pond

4) least influence by sun, steepest slope results in darkest value of roof planes
5) sky influence, same slope as #2 but no sunlit reflection from other roof plane.

This probably seems tedious, but it really wasn't when tackled one roof plane at a time.  

I am open for critiques .... then I will I add this one to the shop.  

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