An original mixed media painting of bustling tourists making their way to and from the Colosseum in Rome on a sunny April morning. by

Description

As an artist, I constantly seek inspiration from life’s memories. Using light is fundamental to me when creating a painting, to help transfer those thoughts and feelings into a visual piece.

This painting of early morning tourists walking to and from the colosseum in Rome was created using photographs taken that day, and then my own interpretation of them as I recalled the event.

I’ve tried to capture the intensity of the bustling crowd and the sense of anticipation as the colosseum draws your eyes towards its imposing view.

I usually paint in oils. But for this piece I have painted a ground, that is ‘underpainted’, with a gold metallic paint. Then I painted on top as I would normally with the oils. I’ve allowed small areas of the gold from beneath to show through in areas where the oils haven’t covered it. This results in a sparkling effect as you view the painting from different angles, and depends on where a light source is hitting the painting. I feel this effect helps reimagine the magic of that morning.