Newbury Street


Newbury Street, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

Taken with iPhone 4S, with HDR app, dynamic light, photogene. I warmed the tones with dutch light effect, and used extreme overcooked HDR.

Chinese Restaurant


Chinese Restaurant, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

I placed the fork over the edge of the table to recreate the trompe l'oeil effect of a still life from Amsterdam.

Ice Cream Shoppe


Ice Cream Shoppe, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

Another beautiful HDR photo, a small little ice cream shoppe on main street in Rockport

Rockport


Rockport, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

Created with iPhone 4S and Dynamic Light together with HDR pro apps. It reminds me of a hyperrealistic watercolor painting.

Model in Chinatown


Model, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

HDR creates a brilliant surge of ultra sharp vibrant color, and motion, to beautiful effect.

Canoli


Canoli, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

In brilliant HDR, an abstraction of a popular Italian dessert.

Woodman's of Essex


Woodman's of Essex, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

A slice of Americana New England style compliments of iPhone 4S HDR.

The Tattoo Man


The Tattoo Man, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

Using an iPhone HDR app, to bring out the shadows.

Matisse Oranges


Matisse Oranges, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

With HDR program on iPhone 4S, an ordinary bowl of oranges becomes a Matisse - Cezanne still life of tapestry and patterns.

Ballerinas Up a Tree


Ballerinas 2011, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

Unusual and unexpected vantage points create tension and visual excitement. The usual structured harmony of the ballerinas' pose is replaced by a natural spritely lighthearted engagement up a stately oak tree.

Nude Woman


Nude Woman, originally uploaded by lionheart613.
Another painted in Gheno's artist studio at the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts on the Upper East Side. I placed her in a scene reminiscent of the season. I sculpted the form with flesh tones of varying hues, and worked very hard on establishing the correct proportions. She was a thin woman, and yet my tendency was to bulk her up. I especially like the contrapposto gesture of legs and hips, reminding me of the Greek statues of antiquity.

From Wikipedia: Contrapposto is an Italian term that means counterpose. It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This gives the figure a more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed appearance. It can further encompass the tension as a figure changes from resting on a given leg to walking or running upon it (so-called ponderation). Contrapposto is less emphasized than the more sinuous S Curve.

Nude Man


Nude Man, originally uploaded by lionheart613.
BB Painted in Dan Gheno's artist class at the National Academy School. I used a combination of cadmium orange and ultramarine blue to create the rich shadow tones. Initially, I underplayed the shoulders, gradually widening them and adding muscle bulk to add strength and poise. I also widened the stance and set the feet at different levels. I tried to minimize the use of highlights until I really needed them, so as not to wash out the beautiful flesh tones, made from a mixture of naples yellow, cad red light and orange, and maybe some raw sienna.

Central Park to North Fork


North Fork Lake, originally uploaded by lionheart613.
I took the painting, a large one, begun earlier a week ago in Central Park, out to the North Fork. I found a winery with a lake, about he same early afternoon sun, and continued to work on my canvas. The transformation is profound. Painting directly on a white canvas enhances the radiance, reminiscent of the artist Monet. The blue sky takes charge, with strong blues now reflecting in the lake. I cut into the trees with the sky, adding dabs of whites and blues into the branches, which I think is a more effective representation of the now semi barren autumnal foliage. The remaining leaves are even more intense. I also carved a small jutting stretch of land into the lake, with three trees, reflecting on the pool. It is almost an entirely different painting. I think in the future, when I complete a painting on location it should be done, and I should not be tempted to return to it. There is a beauty in the moment, in the spontaneity of capturing the scene. It can only be found once. That is what life is all about, collecting fleeting moments and preserving them in the mind's eye for all eternity. 

Central Park Autumn


Central Park Painting 2011, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

I painted this en plein air, in about one and a half hours. This was at the small sail boat lake on 72nd street in Central Park. I used an earth tone palette, with viridian and green earth, naples yellow, cadmium orange, red and yellow, burnt umber, raw sienna, and ultramarine blue. I worked fast, using large brushes and much paint thinner to quickly cover the canvas. I tried to underpaint with sienna and warm hues, and added the blues and darker colors in the lake and distance to achieve depth. On top, i added pure intense and vibrant cadmiums, capturing the last rays of sun. In the distance, you can see the bridge, with hints of bright yellow leaves showing through. Traces of the upper east side are seen, in the buildings to the side. I like that I kept to the color schema. In painting , broad swaths of color are best. Detail subtracts, does not always add to a paining. keep it loose and free.

North Fork Beach


North Fork 11 19 11-8, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

This is the orignal version, taken with the iPhone 4S, and using a pro HDR app. I held the camera steady, as two photos were taken, then combined. Normally, if you point a camera into the sun, only the sky would show, all else lost in shadows. When the phone snapped the lower half of this scene, the sky was blown out. By combining the two, a very vivid effect is achieved. I added warmth and increased saturation to add to the magical effect.

Sunset Beach Infrared Version


North Fork 11 19 11-9, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

With an app to convert to infrared, the beach takes on an eery tone, haunting, ominous, lonely.

Sunset Beach


North Fork 11 19 11-11, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

One of three renditions taken with the iPhone. This app, called dynamic light, adds a very granular texture, which I thought worked for the beach scene. I added considerable warmth to the photo. If I were painting this, I would use a palette knife and throw sand onto the canvas, maybe gesso too, to add texture.

On the Shelter Island Ferry


North Fork 11 19 11-12, originally uploaded by lionheart613.

Taken with the iPhone 4S, then converted into HDR with HDR pro app. This is a grainy heavily stylized effect. The look reminds me of the movie "300", attaining a near surreal quality. I als desaturated the flesh tones to add to the unearthly effect.