Painting Process | Chrysler Building @Headroomdigi

Headroom Borbay

On Monday, I requested a location with a view on my Facebook Wall and my HS friend, music executive Theresa Notartomaso, responded immediately. Thanks to Theresa, my easel and I found ourselves in front of a stunning view on the 19th floor of Headroom Digital‘s studio on 26th and Madison.

Actual

With VH1, bottomless coffee, occasional massage chair break and conversation (thank you Claudia) leading the way.

Headroom Digital

Setting up shop – I wasn’t sure whether to paint the Empire State Building or the Chrysler, but I am a sucker for water towers.

Headroom Digital

A quick, rough sketch to nail down the composition.

Headroom Digital

An under drawing with crimson to get the feel.

Headroom Digital

Whenever the blue sky hits the canvas, it is on.

Headroom Digital

A secondary layer with Hookers Green – ah, complementary colors.

Headroom

A second round of measurements and outlines, and it’s go time.

Headroom

While buildings don’t necessarily reflect a season, this particular scene felt like fall.

Headroom

In with some warmer red tones.

Headroom

Matched with a round of muted blues, and a lighter sky.

Headroom

Working around the canvas with the big three primaries – blue, red, yellow.

Headroom

Now with some warm, reflective greens, filling in the Chrysler Building, doing the bull dance, feeling the flow.

Headroom

Painting windows on a skyscraper is like navigating a hot waffle iron, it’s relatively easy and mundane, but one wrong move and you will get burned.

Headroom

Detailing the buildings from the top down, working each color around the entire canvas.

Headroom Borbay

Working around the off-whites, looking to create distance in the landscape.

Headroom Borbay

Working secondary building planes, and window details.

Headroom Borbay

A few nice mint green highlights, covering some copper detailing on the buildings.

Headroom Borbay

Detailing the sky, and adding some small bits of light blue flavor throughout.

Headroom Borbay

Final details in red.

Headroom Borbay

And the final. Thank you Headroom Digital, Theresa, Jerry, Samantha and Claudia for the opportunity to paint in your beautiful office space. Up next, a painting of the bridges from the downtown office of all-star advertising agency SS+K starting Monday, October 5th.

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19 comments

  1. Tom Hessel says:

    Fantastic, Jason. They keep getting better. I’m intrigued by the “view” paintings, like the Bridges and the Chrysler Building. They should buy the painting and hang it right next to the window. Sort of a real vs surreal effect. Love it!

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