And without further adieu: the final piece on the Larchmont series: Berry’s Favorite Place.

Here is a video of the process.

This painting is different in many ways, beginning with the source image. It is a composite of three photographs: one taken from Berry’s perspective; a second taken by yours truly to fill in details; and a third, also taken by Berry, of her house in black-and-white, which was placed to the right of the pool in Photoshop.

Blocking things out. I’ve taken to creating shapes with the headlines, in hand, developing interesting boundaries between nouns.

Negative space, directional collage work.

Throwing down the big tree, sky and water.

Because the feeling of the backyard at 24 Helena Ave is warm, I decided on an orange under-painting for the non-collaged portions of the canvas.

Getting in there, drawing out the detail, and beginning to carve out the house — which, except for the flag, will be black and white.

House is done, splashing down some grey’s in the pathway.

Painting bushes… focusing on the variations in color and texture.

It takes a great deal more time to landscape in real life, versus on a canvas.

Painting the beach blanket and lounge chair… those little details make a big difference. At this stage, the orange toes pop like crazy.

The feet are done. Nails painted. Now, it’s about finalizing the sky and water.

Berry’s painting is the opposite view of Laura’s…

Painting #2… Laura’s Favorite Place, the view from the hot tub.

Here is the original painting in the series, created for E.C.

And, finally, a write-up about the series.