Saturday 22 November 2014

The Empire State Building by Tom Shropshire

Giants In The Mist

The Chrysler Building, an Art Deco skyscraper in New York, was the worlds' tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. This painting features the two architectural giants emerging from the mist and towering far above the crowded city below. These buildings were constructed during the Great Depression providing construction jobs for many workers and became symbols of pride for the American people in difficult economic times, (not unlike our current economic struggles).

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is still an awe-inspiring landmark. I wanted to capture the glittering city lights as a backdrop to this amazing building in a loose semi-abstract technique. I think the lighting gives the painting an energy that expresses the pulse of New York City at night. I remember vividly my visit to the top as a teenager and my previous trip to the top of the Sears tower in Chicago ...I think that's when my love of city lights began and my love of painting urban landscapes.









City Haze

Ghostly skyscrapers tower over older tenements on a hot summer morning in the big city.?

New York The Emerald City

I intentionally enhanced the greenish tint on this New York skyline as I thought about the immigrants coming to America and their first glimpse of the city. It must have seemed as strange and magical as the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. I used thin transparent washes of color to achieve a shimmering translucence to the buildings.









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