All About Manhattan

 
"Trinity Church" Any one who visits the Wall Street area, where the stock exchange is located, cannot help admiring the beauty and wonder of this historic landmark.  Trinity church is another favorite place I love to visit and love to paint. 

Manhattan is a painters paradise.  There are scenes to be captured everywhere you turn.  Each season adds new inspiration.  I selected some of my favorite places to share with you.  

 

"The Place where Music Lives" is a scene of Carnegie Hall and the  Russian Tea Room. The look of 57 th street has changed since I painted this scene.  I wanted to capture the beauty of the building, and the historic Russian Tea Room as I remember it. 

The painting of the"Horse and Carriage Ride Through Central Park"
is a common sight when visiting the park. I often cut through the park which offers a sense of calm, amongst the hustle and bustle of the city around you.  The gentle clacking of the horse and carriage is a peaceful sound which I enjoy.

There are two paintings "A NY Lunch" and "A Walk Along Central Park" of  strolling along Central Park.  I like to include the hot dog vendors, they are found on every street corner in Manhattan.  They give the city a touch of humanity against all the big buildings.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a favorite place to visit.  I especially love it in the rain.  The reflections of the building, the coloring, and all the umbrellas add the the charm of this popular series "The Met in the Rain"

 The painting "Central Park"  is one of my favorite.  I love the city when it snows.  The dark sky set a beautiful backdrop for the glistening buildings, showing off the familiar copper roof of the Essex House.  A great way to tour the park on a snowy evening.

  

Orchid Fantasy

Fantasy Orchids is part of a series, Fantasy Florals.  Flowers often do not need to be described.  Often it is not so much what they look like, but rather the sensation they cause.  Sometimes it is the amazing colors nature has created, other times it is the way they act, dancing in the wind.  

To capture the emotion of flowers, I often rely on spontaneous painting methods, working on various supports, canvas as well as multiple types of papers.  I also use various mediums, watercolors as well as liquid acrylic and Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus, pigmented liquid watercolors.

The painting featured in this blog is painted using Hydrus.  The liquid consistency of  Hydrus gives me an opportunity to drop the pigment on the paper and create unusual effects.  The colors stay vibrant and once dried will not lift, so I can overlay colors without smearing them.  Spraying areas, tipping the surface and letting colors run is another way of creating interesting effects.  

Orchid fantasy was inspired by my visit to the Bronx Botanical Garden during their annual Orchid show.  Going through the maze of orchids in the conservatory left an impression of orchids everywhere in every color, shape and size.  I needed to find a way to capture that image.  Drawing what an orchid looks like was not the answer. Dropping pigment on paper or canvas gave me the start I needed.  After the burst of colors, I then negative and positive painted  to introduce some suggestion of the orchid shapes.  The difficult part of this type of painting is to know when to stop.  I always allow the viewer to participate in my paintings, giving them the pleasure of finding flowers and to finish the painting.

Windows of the World

Windows of the World is a series of paintings I began while traveling through Europe.  Looking out of my hotel window in Venice,  it created a frame around the  window across the narrow canal.  It was a painting already composed.  I knew I had to capture this scene.  Walking the streets of Venice, all I could do was look up at the windows, each one was a painting.  The windows captured the essence of the place.  

When I returned home, I decided on how to interpret my vision as a watercolor painting.  Working small, so the viewer would at a glance see only the windows, was important.  The paper I chose became an intricate part of the paining.  The paintings are done on full size papers which measure 6"x8" and 9"x12".  The small scale allows the viewer to go directly into the window.  

The papers are made in small villages throughout India and the process is stamping the pulp with their feet, screening it by hand and press it with a hand press.  The results are unique, each sheet has its own character, parts of the paper are thicker than others, the deckle edges (there are 4) are often uneven.  When framing these pieces I float the painting so the edges are visible.

The paper is made with three different surfaces, a rough, cold pressed and smooth, which I matched to the window.  The paintings develop a dimensional characteristic, sometimes looking like sculptures.

Although the sizes of the paintings are small, the time needed to work the windows is extensive. Details are important requiring a great deal of observation and drawing.

The paper is 300lb. weight, but has a soft surface and erasing is not tolerated.

The window paintings are a favorite of collectors and designers.  What you see on my web site angeladaleo.com are just a few from the hundreds I have painted over the years from all parts of the world which I have traveled.  I continually add more to this popular series.

Trevi Fountain by Angela D'Aleo

When I first saw the Trevi Fountain in Rome, I knew I could capture the feeling of the sculpture if I created the painting using masa paper.  Because of the enormous size of the Trevi Fountain, I chose to paint only parts of the lower right and left side, leaving the rest for future paintings.

As I continued to travel throughout Italy, I could not look at a sculpture without thinking I need to capture this memory.  A photo could not do it for me.  When I returned home, I started my series of sculpture paintings.

Watch for the upcoming podcast of painting techniques, including painting on masa paper.

On my website  www. angeladaleo.com you can View more masa paintings, including statues from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  There is a wonderful French Sculpture garden where you can see the statues that inspired me.

For more information on the masa paintings, contact me at adaleo@optonline.net.

Grapes by Angela D'Aleo

Visiting the vineyards in Tuscany, California and the vineyards of Long Island inspired these paintings of grapes. The plump mature grapes sparkling in the autumn light come alive awaiting he harvest.  They seem to dance on the vines with an almost stained glass glow, which I wanted to capture in my paintings.  

These paintings had to be portraits of grapes, depicting a constant sense of movement, which would convey a happy feeling when viewed.  Using a curvilinear motif helps me to accomplish this.  I added playful calligraphic stroking, suggesting the vines, adds a rhythm and directional path for the viewer to follow

By working on a smooth surface paper, the colors stay vibrant.  To further intensify the colors, I use complimentary colors of violets and yellows, blues and oranges.

The dark bark weaving through the painting offers a conflict of a neutral color and a strong straight element to complete the composition.

I have "Grapes" hanging in my kitchen where it is in constant view and I always find myself getting lost in the painting, enjoying every moment.

Check out my web site at www.angeladaleo.com for more paintings.  

Additional information on this painting contact me @ adaleo@optonline.net