Intricate Architecture and Landscape

This is by far the most intricately detailed painting of this series as it focuses on the heavily decorated facade of this 1930's building at the edge of a large courtyard.
The photographic references of this site show a courtyard filled with umbrellaed tables and quite a few people moving or sitting throughout it.
Obviously, much of that has been eliminated, along with trash containers, ugly signs, and everything else that would detract from the beauty of the building and the fountain ( which wasn't yet installed when I was there with my camera). I painted only what was necessary and important to maintain the architectural elaborateness of this structure and its surroundings without getting too "busy" with superfluous elements that would draw away from its central focus. Still, this painting was never simple to work on and took nearly five months to bring to completion. Even now, as it dries and waits for the framer to pick it up later in the week, I fight the urge to brush in a few more details. But, I won't.

Bay Pines Landscape series

I completed this painting back in September but never got around to posting the finished result as I found myself immediately beginning work on the third painting of this series.
All of the paintings are done on stretched canvas, 70" X 48" , and are in oil paints.
The accuracy in scale and architectural interest is achieved by first laying out a grid and then using colored pencils to carefully measure and draw in key shapes and the most prominent aspects of what I need to focus on.
With this particular painting, I spent a good week or so measuring and drawing before even starting to block in any color. And nearly a month went by before I managed to completely cover the canvas with it's first layer of paint. It's an anxious time I feel reaching this stage of the painting where I can really stand back and see how the composition is working..... or isn't.
Usually, I've done enough small preliminary sketches to visualize how the composition of the painting will look on a larger scale, but I'm never fully certain until I can see it in actuality.
I was elated to see how the strength of the composition transformed itself so well on the large canvas, enabling me to move forward and concentrate on taking this painting to its completion.