When you cycle through the city, you often have recurring impressions of special places, usually buildings, street corners or bridges. In the summer of 2021, I went to these places that have stayed in my memory and tried to paint them in one or two-day sessions. I followed a clear approach through a basic painting process. First, I applied a lean, neutral layer of paint, usually a brownish grey, to the white panel. Then I tried to find the most visually appealing part of the subject. Around this point, I sketched landmarks and angular lines that served as a map or basic framework for the later composition. Then it was a matter of finding common tonal values (light/mid-tones/shadow) and transferring these into a composition of form with rough brushstrokes. Measuring and readjusting vertical and horizontal distances, again and again, re-measuring prominent angles by eye-balling with the brush handle, mixing appropriate color values with the right saturation, and applying them to the surface with confidence. Correcting wrong things and not getting lost in details. Basically, I was interested in depicting an urban scene at a certain time of day, interpreting the light situation, experiencing the surroundings, and training my own painting skills.
→ Free painting project
→ Vienna, around the 6th district