Jardin et Gendarmes

This painting was done in the studio after a trip to Paris and there were several things that I attempted to achieve in it. The light truly is different in Paris and I wanted to reflect that, as the daylight washed over the very lush foliage, producing an inviting shade beneath. The ground was similar to our caliche, here in Texas: not dirt, not gravel, but crunchy. There were always people out walking, or strolling, and paying each other no mind at all. In this composition, everyone is going in a different direction, and I liked the way the light statue stabbed up into the dark treeline and the dark gendarmes stabbed down into the light earth. My main idea was to invite the viewer to want to sit down on the nearly invisible park bench, in the center, right at the drip line. It's where I wanted to go when I was actually there that day, just to watch the people.