Boston Skyline from Across the Charles- Original Fine Art- Sarah Kinne

This painting is acrylic on wood, completed in 2017, It is a larger piece and It was a lot of fun to make so I thought I would share this process with my fellow Steemians and Artists.

I began with a dusky background, with acrylic paint and salt crystals which dissolve to create texture. The surface was an absorbent medium and yielded some watercolor like qualities in the way the paint behaved.

To get the view I wanted I went to the top of the Hyatt Hotel in Cambridge to get the view of the City, this painting definitely it took on a life of it's own.

I took an extended exposure photo that I had kept for years, knowing I wanted to do something with it, and then made this background years later and the two parts were eventually combined into this painting. I ended up also sketching the city from similar viewpoints because observation helps inform a painting so very much. It is also a lot of fun.

The Painting currently Resides with it's new owner, my friend and patron!

I ended up taking a photo of the background and superimposing an image of the city on top, using a photocopier (making two copies of different images on one sheet of paper)

Here are some original elements and the result of my photocopy layering.

This background was originally going to be a map of North, Central and South America, and there is a visible hint of that map in the background pictured above.

Today it is a totally different image because I enjoy turning paintings, looking at them differently and exploring the unexpected potential of a new surface.

Here is the city superimposed... on an 8.5" by 11" sheet of paper.

Here is the original photo that I took in 2008!

I ended up using a photocopier to enlarge the 8.5" by 11" layered image, then used proportions and measurements, as well as free visual estimation to create the city on the surface, rather than a grid. The absorbent medium is like paper so any mark I made on it was there to stay. I enjoy working away from grids!

The painting soon began to develop into what I was imagining...
Some paintings, I finish and start in a day or a night, but this painting and I spent a lot of late nights together as I finished it.

Here is the Completed piece again unframed and framed ....

Every time I make a painting, I learn new things about variations in process, such as, what I enjoy and what challenges me. It is important to reflect on what is both extremely enjoyable and rewarding.

The final dimensions of the piece are 3.5' by 5.25'.

I collaged a photo of myself that was disproportionate to the actual painting size, important to mention. Simply for fun and because I respect Vanna White's fine work on "The Wheel of Fortune."

Thank you for taking a look. I look forward to feedback and am happy to share this with all of you!