Description

Queensway is one of my largest and most immersive Birmingham cityscape paintings. I created it after standing on the footbridge over Great Charles Street Queensway on a rainy evening. I was watching the traffic surge beneath me while a train pulled into Birmingham Snow Hill Station above.

Working from my slow shutter photos, I moved the camera left to right slightly when taking the shot. This created the streaking effect of the lights. The sky was a beautiful turquoise whilst the city traffic glowed beneath it. I wanted this to be a large painting, 100 x 80 cm canvas, so when viewing it, you can feel yourself engulfed within the scene.

Inspiration for Queensway:

Standing on this footbridge, the city pulsing beneath me, is invigorating. I need both the evening and the rain to create the perfect situation. This is when the street surface glows and the light trails become real through the lens of my camera. I am rarely satisfied with just the photograph as an end result.

As a fine artist, I aim to interpret this scene within a larger and more abstract painting. I merge several initial photos and emphasise key parts of the composition. I also respond to my emotions of actually being there on the bridge.

Techniques and media used:

The stunning blue sky was the most essential element, which led me to opt for a more muted blue and grey palette, and a loose rendition of the tall glass office block in the background.

The dark areas of the underpass contrast with the bright emerging traffic.  I use thin layers of oil paint on this beautiful, large box canvas. Over the course of a few months, I wait for each layer to dry, keeping elements such as the train and traffic loose. I add thin translucent yellow and red glazes over the white light trails last to make them radiate light.

The final stages are when I “oil out” the whole surface to obtain an even glow to the oil paint, which in turn has to dry before I paint the last layer of sacrificial gloss oil varnish.