Olhao Painting

This painting was inspired by our trip to Portugal last year. It is street scene from Olhao, a small town in the Algarve region in Southern Portugal. The colorful streets were saturated in light that broke in hard angles over the textures of stone, wood, and tiles. I hope the viewers will relate to the colorful textures and colors. I live in Chicago, in the United States, where we are not allowed to hang laundry outside of our home. But I think it's beautiful; especially when the light shines through the fabric. My husband's family is Portuguese, and we visit them occasionally. I chose the medium of oil paint because it gives me an opportunity to document my feelings and memories of my time there. I am doing a series of landscapes from my trips abroad: Italy, Spain, and Chile. I paint loosely in an impressionistic style because I wish to edit out excess. This economy of imagery enables me to express the essence of the place.