Monday, August 27, 2018

The Story of Morning Coffee and Happy Accidents

I'm a regular patron of Barnie's Coffee Kitchen in Winter Park, my favorite coffee shop. I like the nostalgic old time feel of the place, and the big windows with lots of daylight streaming in. I especially like the blue light reflected on the floor early in the morning. I always intended to paint that scene.

When I finally got around to painting Barnie's, I decided to make it apart of the interior series I was developing, which included a figure of myself in the painting. 

The painting was accepted to the Southeastern Pastel Society 2018 International Show in Atlanta. When I attended the opening, I was surprised and horrified to discover that it looked nothing like the original. It was more abstract, and all the figures were blue gray and devoid of detail. 

It seems the new glitter pastel I used generously on the rear window, became loose during shipping, and scattered allover the painting. When I looked at the other paintings in the exhibition I noticed that others also used glitter pastel. Like me, they must have picked some up at the last pastel convention in Albuquerque. However, they used a just little bit, while I went a little too crazy with the stuff. 

After the show was over and I received the painting back, I proceeded with the restoration. I lightly bushed off the excess pastel using a soft synthetic brush. To my relief, the original painting was still preserved underneath. I repainted parts and touched up others. I kept the softer, more mysterious feel of the painting that was created by the shipping accident. Thankfully, this was a happy accident that made my painting better. 

www.oritreuben.com
http://www.southeasternpastel.org/main.html




Morning Coffee - Revised
Pastel, 16" x 12"

Morning Coffee, Old                                                       Barnie's Reference Photo