“What I wanted to do was to paint sunlight on the side of a house.” — Edward Hopper
I can relate. I wanted to paint this strange "corner" - a confluence of mismatched walls and buildings - because I've passed it almost daily for years on my way to my studio, witnessing it change in various lights. The stark white was particularly stunning when lit up by the sun (until one day someone painted the fence a garish green). After years of observation, I finally went about painting my version - a combination of photo reference and memory. While the stark white is what drew me to the scene to begin with, I had much fun with the many-shaded shadows.
I leaned into my interest in color field painting by simplifying the composition and playing with a limited color palette. For the latter, I was influenced by Helen Lundeberg's blue and white painting, "Aegean Light" (1973), on view at the Huntington. My painting ended up having more than two colors in it, of course, but it was still an interesting exercise in finding a balance between restraint and richness.
