Schooner Wharf Concertina Player Painting
I’ve avoided sketching pictures on the canvas prior to painting in part because any transparent colors will not always cover the guide lines. However, I have generally come to like the opaque colors better anyway (I happen to use Liquitex paints). I can appreciate the intensity of oils, but I like the convenience of acrylic, the low odor, and the ability to work in layers with minimal drying time.
Inspiration for this painting came from the same two sources as my previous painting. One was seeing the art of Jorge Alio in a gallery in the Distillery District of Toronto. I liked his style between realism and abstract. I also have greatly enjoyed my adventures sailing. Putting the inspiration of Jorge Alio together with a memory of a street performer in Key West who walked along asking “Do you want me to play a ditty?” and holding a concertina while walking along near the Schooner Wharf bar inspired both images. This image was based on one of my preliminary sketches. I couldn’t figure out how to work Schooner imagery into the background, but suddenly the random lines I’d drawn I thought would work just fine. Essentially, it is based on an “unfinished” preliminary sketch.
Concertina Player - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on canvas board, 9″ x 12″
- the Muse
