City scapes are pictures of cities or towns like paintings or photos of streets, buildings and places with or without people. These pictures can be everything from realistic to abstract.

Over the past few years, I slowly discovered that painting city scapes can be fun, especially in Ireland with its brightly decorated houses in all rainbow colours. Just awesome!!!

In the past, I wasn’t so fond of all these straight lines but in abstracts that can be great.

Additionally, since restarting photography in 2014, I developed a tendency to more abstract painting. As photos seem already realistic, then what’s the point in doing the same in painting??? Abstracts and city scapes together, I find are a great combination. City scapes can be nearly ideal abstract material.

In the following, there are five examples of city scapes I did myself.

 

City Scape No. 1:

“Limerick Streets”

Limerick Streets, acrylics, 2013

This is my first ever proper city scape painting, done in 2013. I was walking around Limerick to find a place to paint for a Limerick Art Society (LAS) exhibition with the theme “Limerick”. When I discovered this street with those fantastically coloured houses I just couldn’t help myself but paint it.

I never handed it in for the exhibition as I didn’t finish in time but sold it some years ago to a tourist on the market in Limerick.

 

City Scape No. 2:

“The Pirates of the Caribbean at King John’s Castle”

The Pirates of the Caribbean at King John’s Castle, acrylics, 2015

The next one up was about the pirates in Limerick which I painted in 2015. That was due to a submission for a calendar by Limerick Art Society (LAS), theme: Limerick.

I wanted to participate and painted my three-master model with King John’s Castle in the background. The sailing ship reminded me of my son a few years earlier, watching “The Pirates of the Caribbean”. That’s where I got the idea with that title from …

So that was that and I handed it in as well. And not just that, it was picked for the calendar by the selection committee.

Of course, I still have that calendar and I’m not going to throw it away.

For more info on this painting see my blog post: The Pirates of the Caribbean in Limerick

 

 

City Scape No. 3:

“The Green Bridge”

The Green Bridge, acrylics, 2017

As I went to Killaloe a lot for a while – because it is sooo nice there – I had a proper look at that pedestrian bridge with the green railings. It is just before the ancient bridge across the River Shannon, a major traffic spot.

Looking up, I felt it would make for a great abstract. That was in 2017.

Nobody was interested in or liked that picture or that view of the bridge. Except myself. Tough!

Then, last December (2018), there was this world-wide online art competition for women only by Light, Space and Time Online Art Gallery (see link below). Normally, I don’t even think of entering pictures because I don’t believe in getting any recognition whatsoever and it costs money as well.

In this case, I made an exception after checking out what sort of pictures they had picked in the past and uploaded my bridge, paid the price and forgot about it. Until I received an email saying I got a tiny certificate for Excellence in Art and my painting is on public view on their website. GREAT NEWS!

You can find it here: https://www.lightspacetime.art/all-women-2019-art-exhibition-painting-other-media/#gallery/98dbe6ffddc20cd56869ae76f2ec94c6/30364

 

 

City Scape No. 4:

“Tourist Spot”

Tourist Spot, mixed media, 2018

In 2018, I was looking at lots of paintings or better artworks like over-painted photos by Gerhard Richter. I assume the photos he used are all his as in self-made. He is one of the most expensive and famous living artists of our time. See example below and there are more nice and interesting things on that website: https://theluxuryspot.com/art-spotting-gerhard-richter/

Gerhard Richter:  https://theluxuryspot.com/art-spotting-gerhard-richter/ 

 

And with that he – Gerhard Richter – gave me an idea! Good man!!!

City Life, photography, 2016

I had taken this photo of a public toilet in Killaloe in a really nice spot right at the River Shannon in 2016. I found the collection of things on that spot hilarious but no one else seemed to  see the funny side of it. Well …

Then there was this evaluation evening with the LAS coming up with certain evaluators whom I am not so fond of. They are very dismissive of my art and I always come out an idiot or loser or both.

Therefore, I thought I do a bold picture – something to really dismiss!!! – and came up with the idea to  partly over-paint my toilet photo, à la Gerhard Richter, not that he ever used a toilet photo, to my knowledge. Well, I wouldn’t know for sure.

Toilets were actually more a thing of e.g. Marcel Duchamp with his toilet bowl in 1917 and 1964. During the Pop Art era in the 1950s and 60s, lots of common household items like shopping trolleys, toilet bowls etc. were turned into objects of art by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and a good few others …

Very interesting, Pop Art!!!

Marcel Duchamp: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573

 

This project of mine now required some photo editing, an enlarged photo printout and a wooden panel to glue it on. A canvas would be too wobbly.

However, these two so-unloved-by-me evaluators couldn’t make it and some others did it. Two very nice people, great artists and well able to deal with my a bit more unusual photo-painting. They both declared that picture “excellent” and then continued making their jokes about it. I was laughing my head off as they called it the tourist pot without the “s” and said the traffic light means you can only go when it is green etc. etc.

They did mean it when they said it is excellent. Well, that keeps me happy enough.

 

City Scape No. 5:

“City Lights over Sarsfield Bridge”

City Lights over Sarsfield Bridge, pastel, 2019

Light, Space and Time Online Art Gallery (the ones who liked my Green Bridge) have another competition on, deadline 27 January 2019. It is about CITY SCAPES.

I thought I didn’t have anything decent for that and therefore painted an abstract pastel of this Limerick riverside scene. I like how orange street lights and colourfully painted and/or illuminated buildings paint the Irish cities in all rainbow shades at night-time.

So let’s waste some money and upload the toilet and the city lights …

 

Conclusion

… and see what comes out of it. Right???

You never know you know!?!

Best wishes, Bridget

 

A few days ago (on 30 Jan 2019 exactly), I got an email saying “Congratulations …” – from Light, Space and Time Online Art Gallery. Meaning: I got another certificate for Excellence in Art in the Special Recognition Category. This time for the “Tourist Spot”, the above very red picture with the public toilet. See link: https://www.lightspacetime.art/cityscapes-2019-art-exhibition-painting-other-media/#gallery/3af1e24a473384f803edb063e2fa172e/30634

 

For more pictures in vibrant colours and not just my own visit: www.pinterest.com/arthenning/     or

just visit my website for a browse: www.arthenning.com

I am running a very similar blog to this one on blogger:  http://artandphotographyhenning.blogspot.com

Affiliations: http://www.limerickartsociety.ie