Painting Process | The Flag House, 24 Helena Avenue Larchmont NY

Larchmont Flag House Painting by Borbay

After raising two children over 30 years, the Hoffman family has placed their house on the market. So, being commissioned to paint their storied home — theFlag House in Larchmont, New York was a special project. To truly comprehend the warm memories of this special place, I had the pleasure of spending an evening at the house, grilling, swimming and chatting with the family.

Here is a video of the entire process…

For this canvas, we decided on a collage-painting, with New York Post Headlines and acrylic paint. If a picture = 1000 words, then a picture with many words must have a market value of at least 5242 words.

Starting out with a brief sketch on the plastic wrap.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Nailing down the directional collage… establishing the underlying visual flow without constructing a cognizant narrative.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Beginning, after a brief Sharpie sketch, with a bright blue… as I often do.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Working top-to-bottom… green in the grass, blue in the sky.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Starting in with some yellow on the house… Even at this early stage, from far away, the form seems somewhat apparent.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Purple in the roof to balance the house… as you will see, I was under a tree and the shadows will creep along with the days.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Still quite early, looking to create a homogeneous balance throughout the entire process.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Bringing in the shadows always begins to shift the plane.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

The large hanging tree to the right of the house was full of character, so I knew from the outset it had to be treated differently.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Adding the red in the flag on Veteran’s Day felt like an appropriate measure.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

With so much action happening composition-ally, and with the headlines, I tried to cover larger swatches quickly for balance.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Flag blue, chimney and more dark tones… these details are grounding.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Photographic evidence of the process often misses close colors… particularly in like deep tones.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Working on the roof’s tonal variations with two failed colors… a tan and orange… they will both recede into the paintings history.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Far more stable… this painting has reached the stage where the finish begins to make sense.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

As the sun fades, the painting and the inspiration, in context… approaching the magic hour.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Adding some hot greens to activate the foreground and bushes.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Sometimes when you are painting in the shade, it is helpful to take the painting into the sun to assess the colors.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Making the turrets turn with two planes shifting colors.

Flag House in Larchmont Painting Process by Borbay

Using my artistic license, I placed the street sign on the front lawn for a direct shout to the location… a clever request of my collector.

Larchmont Flag House Painting by Borbay

And completed! Up next? Several confidential brand commissions, which are ongoing, and another commission in Larchmont. Stand by…

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