Central Park – Coming Storm
Oil on linen, 36″ x 48″, 2016
The scene is Central Park, in mid-Autumn, when the leaves are turning. A lone figure is skating in Wollman Rink, while three figures rest on the rocks overlooking the scene: the skater, the coming storm, the park, and the city architecture beyond. You can see the blue skies behind you, the viewer, in the reflections of the glass buildings.
Compositionally, red creates the center. White ties the foreground to the middle ground and background. I was very keen on capturing an intensity of details in the trees, especially in the foreground, as well as an intensity in the clouds with light and shadow. The calmness of the lone skater (and onlookers) appears to contrast with the intensity of the surroundings.