This piece developed from my small work entitled, “Night Moves.” It is set from almost the same spot in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, viewing up Walnut Street toward downtown. While the smaller painting was set at dusk, this one takes place after nightfall.

One of my goals in making this piece was to use no blue paint. In fact, I chose an extremely limited palette consisting of only transparent red oxide, alizarin crimson, cadmium red light, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow light, ivory black, and titanium white. One of the interesting aspects of ivory black is that it’s a cool color, and one has to be careful, because mixing it with white will create blue shades. But another interesting aspect of this color is that mixing it with yellow produces a greenish hue, which I used to show the trees illuminated by the streetlight at the upper left corner.

Since it was too dark to paint onsite, this is a studio piece that was done from some reference photos I took. I also took several walks back to the location, just to refresh my memory as to how the real light affects the scene, which can’t be truly captured in photographs.

My work is constantly evolving, and I enjoy trying new approaches in creating artwork. This piece was done using a variety of instruments, including ink brayers, brushes, and palette knives.

This painting on cradled birch panel measures 30” tall by 30” wide. It sells in an expresso wood box frame and is ready to hang. Price includes frame and free shipping in the U.S.