On the 4th St Bridge, Near Lorena

"On the 4th St Bridge, Near Lorena"
oil on panel, 8 x 10

as with the previous post, I am playing around with atmospheric techniques and brushwork in this one.

I love the strong cool shadows in the foreground, with the bright white lamposts in the middle area, and the receding dirty Los Angeles sky in the far background.

this is drive back home from the westside is a favorite mine, I always take the streets, always, freeways are for going to places that are very far, they give me nothing but headaches, and they make me sleepy! But the streets through town is a very pleasant experience, the views are fantastic, it is all full of color, and having grown up and for the most part have lived in the surround areas, this place if more than familiar, it is home.

for the subject above, i was more than likely coming from Downtown LA, since this is my usual route back when doing so. This is right in the heart of East Los Angeles, especially the areas with the old bridges connecting the east side with downtown, there is a look to this part of the city that is sadly eroding away and being replaced with ugly modernism. Sad to see them go, but as they say "c'est la vie"

the image above symbolizes one thing, I have gone from the monotonous driving to "ah, here i am, in familiar territory! Not far from home"

For this painting, i used a soft synthetic Bright brush, had worked with that type of brush before, but never really gave it much importance, it was just another brush in the can, next to my Filbert sables that i almost exclusively used.

I really enjoyed the process, and the way this painting came out. Such ease and fluidity of the brush and paint felt awesome!