Painting Complete

 It is a painting about everyday life. A painting about the average person and a typical night out.

The Painting is Titled Shotwells, it is a painting that is meant to describe a bar from the eyes of a bar goer who has been enjoying some of the beverages. There is no higher meaning in this painting, I simply wanted to capture the essence of this place. Shotwell's is a bar in San Francisco, down the street from my art studio. It is  bar I like to go to with some of my studio mates to relax and play some pool and forget about the work week.

In the top right of the painting there is abstract lines that describe a thought of outside. It is as if a smoker is thinking of leaving to go get some air and have  smoke. Below that is a couple of guys  having a conversation while viewing the pool table. I let the layers of paint cover these guys a few times to make them bleed into the bar and just become a background thought.

Under those guys is a man shooting a pool stick with a lazy dog under him who does not move but is looking t the viewer bringing him into this painting. The dog is used to connect to the outside world.   The dog is also used to set a relaxed mood as he is relaxed. Behind the pool player is a man with his hands up as to not get hit with the stick. Below him is a girl with her bottle up taking a big sip of beer. She is enjoying it as the beer at Shotwell's is always good. The direction of the bottle in designed to draw your attention up to the pool stick which shoots you into the pool table.

The pool table is meant to look distorted as if the balls may roll of the table. I painted the balls quickly and loose  to keep your eyes from getting stuck on the table. My goal here is to keep your eye moving through the table. There is a big thick patch of red on the pool table. This color here is very important for balancing  the entire painting. It is the first thing your eye sees and it tells the viewer where to start looking so I can guide there eyes through the painting. It is like the red flag bull fighters flash at the bull.
To the left of the table are a couple of guys just relaxing waiting for there turn to shoot. They are in the most extreme foreground so they are painted loose and almost see through not important characters but again used to set the mood....just extras. They catch your eye but not long enough for you to care enough to get stuck on them.
You then travel  through a cluster of figures who almost combine to create one shape. I wanted this group of people to look at home in the bar.  Perhaps the are waiting to order or they are just letting the bright  lights hypnotize them. If this wee a painting of a zoo they would be the animals in the cage that look like they belong as  they are right at home in there surroundings. They the are bar animals, I almost added a monkey above them but he did not make the cut.

Your eye then travels  to the meat of the painting the bar. The bartender is  my studio mate,  I had her pose for  picture then  that I painted her in. She had the idea of holding her hand up as if she was pulling a tap. So I created the bar around her. The people at the bar are just relaxing having in juicy conversation. The girl is meant to catch your eye. I did this by her placement as she is facing the viewer. The man behind her with a light shirt which boxes her out also making her stand out. She is not meant to acknowledge the viewer as the dog but the viewer is meant to acknowledge her.

I tried to paint the effects of alcohol. Some things are in focus some things are blurry. Your eye has trouble staying in one place it wants to keep moving as if you have no control over it.

The whole painting is a simple story leading  the viewer on  a colorful journey into everyday life