Brick Lane in the Rain Painting

Oil on Canvas 36"x36" With this painting I was searching for a composition that might reflect the vibrant colours and buzzing activity of East London. Brick Lane is certainly the busiest street in my neighbourhood and contains a profound ethnic diversity. The curry houses lining the street compete with bright neon signs and waiters standing in doorways touting their half price meal deals. I had been sketching around Brick Lane with my pochade box for a few hours before the weather closed in. I watched as the rain transformed the bustling street into a kaleidoscope of reflected neon colours. As I set out to capture this atmosphere the sun began to burn back through the storm clouds. I scribbled down the motions of a couple as they walked away from me fending off the predatory gaze of the curry touts. Painting quickly with thinned oil on a small square canvas I raced to mark down the position of the people in front of me before turning my attention to the saturated colours of umbrellas and reflected light. Painting like this is very much hit or miss, my pochade box was balanced on the top of a rubbish bin, people were distracting me with unhelpful comments like “that’s nice” and the rain was making a mess of my palette. The result was surprisingly vibrant sketch that begged to be worked up on a large scale. Back in the Studio I prepared a 36”x 36” board with gesso and a neutral ground. Using a grid I scaled up the sketch and worked for several days on a painting that just didn’t feel right. Over the course of several months the painting was on and off my easel undergoing many changes until I worked out positions for each character that gave the composition symmetry and focus while supporting a split second of narrative. I positioned a central lady with her jacket soaked through and sun bursting through the white umbrella as she arrives within the eyesight of a curry tout. Her body language displays determination to march straight ahead, uninterrupted. However the waiter next to me is weighing up his option, will he try to engage her for the sake of a single cover?

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:39.4 W x 39.4 H x 2 D in

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