Bremerton’s Callow Avenue
Callow Avenue is Bremerton’s grittiest street. The downtown Callow area is the site of tattoo parlors, pawn shops, a dilapidated theater, and shops in various stages of decay. But a little ways up the avenue I found this street scene early on a summer morning. I liked the tunnel of trees throwing shadows running across the street and the small old houses typical of West Bremerton.
I set up my easel in the shade and started painting in the cool of the morning. A pregnant mom with her five-year-old- daughter passed by, and they came back a little later with groceries in a plastic bag. A mentally ill woman was singing as she wound her zigzag way up to the small grocery store across the street. A tall young guy came up the street and returned with a loaf of bread, a bag of rolls, and a can of pop he was drinking.
I told myself I was just going to make a mess of this painting and not worry about getting it perfect. I started with the tree behind the houses and worked my way down to the street, leaving the white of the paper for the truck and the car. Then I painted the telephone pole and foliage on the right side and put in the street while the washes were still wet. I let it dry, then I painted the foliage of the dark tree in the middle and its shadow. The rest was mostly detail work.
I’m pleased with the general effect of the painting. There’s lots of color and soft edges. The houses and their lawns are simplified. The shadows are good and the telephone poles and electric wires are well done. I like the way they eye is drawn up the street, and the truck and car are nice and loose.
But I think I have too much going on in the tree masses in the upper left. The painting seems too busy. Still, all in all, I’m pretty satisfied with this painting.
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