Painting cityscapes. Embarkment. February.
Original watercolor black and white painting cityscapes on fine art paper 56×30 cm, 300 gcm.
On a warm and damp February day, I was walking along the Marsh Embankment in Moscow. Heavy clouds, like lead, full of snow, hang overhead and seemed to be about to lie on the ground. It just snowed. It melted in places, then it again fell upon the city with a snow avalanche, as if everything had merged in a single snow stream. Such unity of earth and sky was felt. I painted a picture, conveyed all my feelings from that gloomy, raging, and at the same time calming cyclone that hit Moscow that day.
It is difficult to believe, but in this black and white painting cityscapes I did not use black color at all. Only a mix of two colors was the base of this painting – brirnt sienna and cobalt blue.
Painting cityscapes
Contemporary and breathtaking, these painting cityscapes capture the beauty of subculture, structure, and town lifestyles. Great for people who appreciate traveling and enjoy city life, those paintings will add a satisfying touch to any space. From the hustle of city lifestyles to the calm of a rainy day, those cityscapes are expressive and unique.
History of painting cityscapes
From the primary century, A.D. dates a fresco on the Baths of Trajan in Rome depicting a bird’s eye view of a historical metropolis. In the middle ages, cityscapes seemed as a heritage for pics and biblical topics. From the 16th up to the 18th century numerous prints and etchings where made showing cities in bird’s eye view. The characteristic of those prints was to provide a map-like review.
In ancient China, scroll art work together with Qingming Shanghe Tu offered a breathtaking view of the cities depicted.
Midway via the 17th century, the cityscapes became an independent genre inside the Netherlands. In his well-known View of Delft in 1660–1661 Jan Vermeer painted a pretty accurate portrait of the metropolis Delft. Towns like Amsterdam and The Hague additionally became popular topics for artwork. Painters from European countries observed the Dutch example. The 18th century became a flourishing period for cityscape portray in Venice.
At the end of the 19th century, the impressionists targeted the atmosphere and dynamics of regular life inside the city. Suburban and commercial areas, building sites, and railway yards also became subjects for cityscapes. In the 20th century interest became focused on summary and conceptual artwork, and therefore the manufacturing of cityscapes declined. With a revival of figurative artwork on the cease of the 20th century comes a revaluation of the cityscapes.
Medium and materials
In my paintings, I continually use high-quality materials and mediums. My preferred fine art paper is top class ACHES paper, France, 100% cotton, 300 gcm. It gives incredible sensual feeling and mechanical power and sturdiness. ARCHES high-quality artwork papers are acid-free and protected towards the acids within the environment. They assure the conservation of the paintings through the years.
My favored medium is watercolor by Daniel Smith, the American enterprise that produces watercolors of the exceptional lightfastness and permanence, gives an expansion of truly precise hues, the maximum of which made of natural minerals.
