Dickson Street II

It seems like I haven't posted a new painting in a long time, but I have been painting! A lot... Really!
It's just that this last one felt like 25 little paintings that just happened to be all on one big canvas!  
10 cars...15 buildings... and all the stuff that goes with each one of those. 

I love to do a great big complicated piece every once in a while.  
It's just that it stays in the ugly stage for such a long time!  First it's just a great big bunch of colorful blobs. Slowly each blob takes shape then becomes a car or building or tree or sign. Finally the canvas is covered, and it looks like what it's supposed to be... except wonky and wrong.  
The writer in me knows that the rough draft and major revisions are finished, so it's time to edit.
Ugh... shape up the perspective here... fix the shape of this... make that look like it's further back... straighten those... add some shadowing... make that flatter... rounder... redder... darker... thicker... lighter... thinner... change that whole section... get rid of those... liven this up... tone that down... wipe this off... change the shape of that
Then one day... I sit back and look for the next glaring problem that needs to be fixed.  I search each little part... step away and look back at the whole... and  finally... my furrowed brow relaxes... and is replaced by a smile. 
That's when I find the thin brush with long bristles and move the the bottom corner of the canvas for one last thing...

Ahhhh....

How about a few fun facts about this painting:

I wanted to show how big it is.

* I painted a similar version of this a couple of years ago for my friend Melanie.
*This one is for my friend Mona.  The red Mustang at the center is hers.
* I asked her, When you think of me to you think of me in the red VW I had for 10 years or in the green one that I have now. The red VW bug about halfway down the line is mine.  
* Her husband's red truck at the far end of the line of cars has actually appeared in another painting.
* They're big Razorback fans, so "Go Hogs."  I like that better than a big Budweiser sign anyway.
* Finally, there needed to be something put on the signs on the fronts of the buildings, so why not the names of her grandchildren. I hope they each like their buildings!

Original Oil Painting on 24"x 36" Canvas
[SOLD]

Dickson Street

"I want something 'Fayetteville-esque."
Oddly enough I understood what she meant.  
So... this painting is Fayetteville-esque.
If you've ever lived in or loved my city, you get it.

What makes it Fayetteville-esque?

... There's Old Main in the background. 

... The trees from the University lawns are in their autumn colors.

... That must be a Razorback license plate on the blue car.

... Of course, there's not an empty parking space anywhere.

... And... there are all the businesses that make Dickson Street... Dickson Street...

I put things into this painting that make it fun.

I spy... my red VW bug! the wheel of my husband's Harley! Melanie's SUV, DJ's mustang!

I think I spy...  Are those initials in the reflection of a window? Do those shutters look like an my own initials? And is that a letter on the orange building? Is that a name on the green car's license plate? How about on the red car's license? 

Could I also spy... Are those scribbles on the white sign, or does it have a message?  Is that a blur, or does it say something on the red dot sign?

Fun! Fun!! Fun!!!

She'll get to see it tomorrow morning! (along with my painting partners who want to be there.)  I hope she thinks it's "Fayetteville-esque!"  

I was pretty proud to finish this one.

With the frame, the bug won't hold much more. :)