WORKS BY JAN CLAIRE


A Day at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden


A Day At Brooklyn Botanical Garden
30" x 24"

 Oil on canvas
Collection of
Demian Vanderputten
New York City, NY

Living in New York City, as we did, 5 blocks from the Empire State Building in mid - Manhattan, peace and quiet was a rarity. So we would escape to the quietude of either the Bronx or Brooklyn Botanical Gardens where, for a short time, silence reigned. It was while sitting on a bench at the Brooklyn Garden, and enjoying the shade, the quiet, and the relaxation that this scene drew me to take a few photos.

Now, 3 years later, living in California's mountains but missing New York greatly, I decided to paint the scene from a snapshot, as if I were emulating one of the French impressionists. This is the "loosest" I have ever painted. It is entirely done with palette knife and gobs of water-based oil paint, over a canvas I had first toned entirely with bright Cadmium Red. I purposely allowed patches of that red underpainting to show throughout the painting. It gives the scene a warm look instead of the usual blues and cool colors of shadows.

I've enjoyed this experience so much I'm certainly
going to do more impressionist-style works.

Sig



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