River - Austin Street East
pastel 10 x 13
I've made a start on a small series, that may turn into a larger series, of urban rivers. This is the first piece and I've done about half of the second, looking west.
Each day when I go to work I pass by rivers, most of which I pay no attention to as they've become part of the landscape and almost swallowed up by the sprawl of concrete and buildings that surround them. But they persist and run through, under and around the city, making their way to the ocean.
I decided to track some of these rivers on their journey. This view of the river is on Austin Street, looking east. The river isn't deep and the undergrowth is threatening to take over at this time of year. Even though this isn't the origin of the river, it was a starting point, simply because I work in the area and pass by it every day. They'll all be sequenced at a later date to track the water's progress to the sea.
On Google Maps, Street View, you can see the point at which the river flows under the road and on further into the city.
4 comments:
very soft piece :) love the foliage texture
its a good idea for a series, are you just doing the rivers or will you put a few piece of the surroundings in the pieces like buildings or people?
Jennifer, even though this is on a busy road, the view looks off to a field beyond. How long that view will remain present depends on developer's plans.
There will be more of buildings in place in some areas than in others. Some will have a lot of buildings, others none. It all depends on where the river comes out.
I always like paintings in a series and I'm sure this will be no exception. I like the first painting but would not realize it was an urban river because the water looks so clean.
Jan, there is little industry in the city, so the waterways are clean. Those that were polluted are now cleaned or in the process of being so.
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