Madison Square Fountain, 9.5" X 22" watercolor

Madison Square Fountain by April M. Rimpo

I always enjoy depicting scenes of everyday life.  Madison Square Fountain captures mid-day in Madison Square Park, New York, NY.  Lots of people were out walking; some were enjoying the sun, some enjoying the garden and fountain, while others gathered in the shade to talk.  My goal was to capture the essence of city life in Madison Square Fountain.  I enjoyed having spots of light hitting some of the people in the shade so I could have variations in the intensity of the shadows.  I felt this provided movement and life to the painting, truly capturing a fleeting moment in time.

Madison Square Fountain

watercolor

9.5" X 22" image

15.5" X 28" brushed silver frame

$615 when shipped within the United States*

Original painting

framed $615.00 USD

The combination of bright sunny spot and areas in the shadows of unseen trees allowed me to have the intense colors of flowers and the saturated colors of shadows.  Shadows on planters and the fountain were started with bold greens and blues to establish a base saturated with color.  I gradually added in more blue washes and lastly some dark neutral gray washes to increase the depth of the shadows.  By starting with intense colors these areas feel lively.

I used a similar approach on some of the people in the foreground.  For example, you can see red and blue glowing through the shadows on the clothes of the woman at the center..  Other foreground people toward the edges of the painting were done primarily in grays to help keep the interest toward the center of the painting.

I hope my handling of this scene captures this moment in time and makes you feel like you are there in the city.

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