Color and Shape

This is a simple/quick study from a photo taken in Venice, Italy back in March '08. I don't do these types of studies very often, or at least I haven't done it much before now. I used to look at a photo and see every detail, imagine myself there, with the sounds and the smells and feel the air on my skin... it was too overwhelming to try and translate all of this into a painting, the weight of the information would crush me before I began. But now, seeing a photo as nothing more than chunks of color, it has helped me simplify the process of translating it to my hand.



And another thing, I feel like color is one of those things that is really hard to get at first, but as you familiarize yourself with colors you know how they work together to create whatever u want. It's so different from drawing.