This week I started my newest painting featuring Toledo, Spain. I visited there in 2012 and was moved by its hilltop setting, its distinct architecture, and the fact that Toledo was the adopted home town of El Greco, one of my favorite painters. Unlike cloudscapes, cityscape paintings require a bit more thought and planning before adding color as evidenced in the photo and time lapse below.
Spain
The New HQ for Reyes Fine Art Is Here!
Never thought I'd be living in the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, but here we are! We're incredibly grateful and proud to call this "Home". |
"Barcelona No. 1" is on the easel. It got started in LA, and will be finished here in Santa Fe. |
"Thunderhead (Albuquerque)" Pastel and graphite on paper 18 x 36" |
"Aero No. 12 (Spanish Descent I)" to the left, and "Aero No. 13 (Spanish Descent II)". Both are acrylic paint on canvas panel and each is 20 x 10." |
While these are not the first pieces of art I've made in New Mexico (having traveled and painted here regularly since 2008), they are the first drawings and paintings created in my new studio and as an official resident of this great place.
An Aerial View Painting Inspired by Spain
My latest painting began live at a special event at Will Leather Goods in Venice on Nov. 22, 2014 (see that story HERE). Since then, this piece has evolved dramatically and my progress and the final painting are presented below. This one has been a wild ride and way more challenging than I anticipated. Sometimes it goes that way, but the education en route is well worth it!
It was inspired by my window seat view of the Spanish countryside moments before landing at Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas. Beginning with Madrid, the places I visited and the things I saw on that trip opened the door to a change in painting style and sharpened my focus on subjects important to me.
10 Stages of Aero No. 14 |
Aero No. 14 (Miami -> Madrid) | Acrylic on birch panel | 46 x 23" (Complete painting to the Left, plus extreme closeups to the Right) |
Actual scale of Aero No. 14 |