Oakland Corner at Night

This painting is based a photo of our neighborhood corner store from the opposite direction of the previous painting (Laundromat Night Hawks). 

Instead of diving head first into a large canvas, I decided to work on a preliminary painting to get the feel of the composition and color.  This painting is small, probably around 12 x 18 and done in about two hours.  I plan to work just a bit more into it and then will consider making a go of it on a bigger canvas.

What I am pleased about is how when I work quickly on a small format my paintings have a softer, dream-like quality.  There is also an energy there that too often I lose when working on my larger paintings. 

Lara Hoke, Oakland Corner at Night, Oil on Board