Image development...

My chosen photograph to explore: 'A Rainy Day in New York' . 

There is tremendous amount of movement in this snapshot and my colour print out of this photograph did not show this, the minute details were distorted so I have chosen to present this image in different ways electronically, the importance being that I can see, and you can see all of the detail in the one second of time captured in this photograph. 

1. Time
Running against the clock. The clock is my focus due to its immense size and stature. However the hot tones of the yellow taxi cabs demand visual focus and the head lights of cars burn through the grey haze of the city street. 

2. America
The flag draws my eye immediately,adding significance, a location without needing to be told. This important clue of location distracts me from the stature of the clock. Busy shoppers sheltered under umbrellas fill the street. A bicycle has fallen to the ground at the forefront, somebody must have left it with some urgency. The fast pace of New York city. 

3. Reflection
This is my favourite. There is much of movement in this image, however the hot tonal focus of the headlights of the cars, reflected on the wet road is what grabs me. Of course ahead of those headlights are people crossing the busy road, however due to the cooler palette, my focus remains on the headlights. 

4. Movement

The billowing buildings in tones of grey fill the background. Smoke from the roofs can be seen moving upwards towards the sky. As far as the eye can see there are cars. People are moving across the street in the forefront. I particularly like the contrast of the dark tones of the figures against the brighter lights of the vehicles. 

5. Avenue 

The focus here is the visual space, the enormous street, avenue. It is wide and continues beyond what I can see. The cooler tones of greys extend throughout the avenue of shops and businesses. The tones match that of the sky and the damp weather. 

6. Work 

Grey buildings full of windows. Workers no doubt sat in desks behind them. Rarely, an empty road with just a street worker and a dust cart moving across it. A hot flash of red from his hat that matches the reflection of red light against the grey buildings. The cart is full of brushes and tools. A busy day ahead. 

7. Industry 

A grey image. The lighter tones of the smoke or vapour coming from the roof is my visual focus. The darker shades of the rows of windows to the rights of this image add a textured dimension. 

8. Weather

This one is interesting. There is not physical item or clue, only the evidence of  weather, the wet road. The damp allowing the reflections of vehicle headlights so as a visual, you know it is a wet road. A cool palette with flashes of hot orange. 

9. Distance

This image focuses on the background of the original image. For the first time my visual focus is on the distance. The lights at the very top of the avenue. How far does the avenue stretch? In this image it seems endless. 

10.  Abandoned 

The visual space is filled with the abandoned bike. Obviously chained but abandoned in a hurry, it has fallen to the wet ground. Flashes of hot orange fill the right of the image, yet it is the bike that tells the story, the bike is important and not the street. 

Illustration...

Avenue: This is an avenue in New York city. I like this image because it shows a moment in time on probably an average day of the week. Everyone is going about their business, on their way to work, on their way home from work, shopping, cleaning, chatting, travelling. This is my inspiration. 

I took a look at pieces of art depicting a wet rainy street. I also wanted to focus on the word 'street' rather than 'avenue', bringing my illustration closer to home. 

MOOD BOARD: All three of these images are wet streets. I can see that all all three, however the tone and colour is so different. A real contrast in colour. The image on the left is neutral, whites, greys and blacks. The images on the right are warm tones, yellows, reds, oranges. All show reflections to highlight the weather, water. 

Using a black pen I focused on different areas of the original 'avenue'. I drew with a very free hand as I wanted my sketches to be busy, with movement. I want the emphasis to be on the people. The sketch on the left shows more of a scene, than the sketch on the left. 

Rough sketch: 

I worked again on the sketch on the left, this time with colour. As the street is wet, I added cool tones of blue and grey to the drawing. I added tonal contrast with a flash of red on selected shop fronts, mildly reflecting in the windows above: 

Now for the font. 'Street'. I wanted to continue with the blue tones and I wanted the font to blend in with the drawing and not stand out, I want the people to be the main focus. I wanted the letters to flow,  and to continue with the movement of the piece. My chosen font is titled 'AR Decode'. 

REFLECTION: Wow! I have enjoyed this exercise so much. It was fascinating breaking down an image and analyzing each section. The detail that you would perhaps miss by just taking a quick glance. I felt really excited about the moment in time in New York, how much activity is taking place in a single second. 

I have been reading 'Sketch your World' by James Hobbs and have used the street sketches of Matthew Cencich as inspiration. Drawing boldly and at speed way was so free and I am really pleased with the result. I am going to make an effort to work in this bold way again. Overall, I am happy with my illustration, I find it visually pleasing. 

Reference: 

'Sketch your World' by James Hobbs