Unity & Balance in Art, My New Painting City Crosswalk

This is my new painting City Crosswalk. I was attracted by the pattern created by the crosswalk.  My initial concern was that I might divide my painting into two sections because of the busy upper part. My critique group did not feel I divided the painting and liked the use of the figure (my focal point) and the simplified buildings. Viewers enter my painting by the crosswalk and can exit by the sky. I used loose, expressive brush strokes and color mixes wet in wet. On this particular day, there was no sunlight. I added sunlight to maintain the forms of the buildings. 

One person’s critique of my painting: 

“The upper half is not "busy" (IMHO) because the values and colors keep the eye relaxed, not bouncing up & down skyscrapers.

The gentle use of orange on the far left car balances the person's coat just right. The car windows balance the hair and pants. The violet of the other car is balanced in the far left building and elsewhere.

I don't know if you planned all this beforehand, or if it is the result of training or natural instincts. But it seems "just right", one of those perfect compositions that look deceptively simple but is never that simple. A great piece.”

 This is a digital painting using mainly traditional oil painting techniques and a painterly approach. I used virtual brushes and paints on coarse cotton canvas (Corel Painter 12 and Wacom Intuos5 drawing pen and tablet). I worked with mainly impasto and “real oil” brushes.

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