I don’t want this piece to become all about the three people in the front. An unease is starting as I wonder if I have enough human activity in the back. Step 6 General refinement to the buildings at rear as well as to the left corner of the front building. In my attempt to create a strong shadow where the bike is, I fear that I have over egged the custard, so I back that off a bit. More attention to the tables and chairs is applied. To compensate in the design I introduce a slash of light to the right-hand corner. Step 5 I decide to paint out the bicycles in the front.

Will that become to dominant? Leaving the bikes I look to smaller pieces, shapes in the building. Step 4 As I refine the figures I start to have doubts about the tangle of bicycles in the front right. Realizing as I go that this scene is more complex than I first imagined, I start to come to grips with the fact that although the sunlight is coming from the left, the reflected light is coming from the right. Step 3 Moving in to establish the figures and also reinforce the contrast between the dark figures and the lighter background. I am always working all over the painting trying to keep the focus even. Step 2 Breaking into smaller shapes, establishing better values and putting more power into the darks.

Patches of colour interest me, not lines. These are almost stained in using a 2 inch brush. Step 1 As always, when I start a painting, I tried to establish the big shapes of light and dark, warm and cool.

Bordeaux Morning … How I arrived at the finished version

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