Monday, September 30, 2013

Brilliant Sun at Water and Don Gaspar

Mediodía de Julio, an Oil Painting by Tom Mallon
Mediodía de Julio by Tom Mallon
Noon in July
Mediodía de Julio, or Noon in July, is a painting by Tom Mallon and depicts a street scene occurring at 12 noon on a warm July day, at the corner of Water and Don Gaspar streets, in downtown Santa Fe. For the artist, this is his first memory of Santa Fe.

After arriving late the night before, this would be the street scene first viewed on exiting the Saint Francis Hotel. The main thoroughfare is East San Francisco Street, which can be seen in the distances at the top of Don Gaspar (see detail below). Click here to view complete painting with details.

Detail: Mediodía de Julio, an Oil Painting by Tom Mallon
East San Francisco Street in distance
Directly on the corner of Water and Don Gaspar is the well known Don Pasqual cafe'. The aroma of southwest cuisine can be sensed, even at this distance.

Unique to Santa Fe is its predominate adobe style structures. This particular scene captures the adobe as well as an indication of multilevel dwellings common to early Pueblo natives. Notice the apartment porch above the one story level.

The street is covered with desert dust and the bright sun casts its shadows directly downward, raking adobe textures, newspaper vending machines and passerbys.


Detail of People from Mediodía de Julio, an Oil Painting by Tom Mallon
The sidewalks of Santa Fe

A Composition Study of People from Mediodía de Julio, an Oil Painting by Tom Mallon
Pyramid composition with sweeping eye-movement
The Painting
The painting Mediodía de Julio, is a pyramid composition, with sharp perspective lines drawing the eye movement from left to right (blue arrows), with some limited return eye movement from right to left (green arrows). Click here to view complete painting with details.

This results in a trapped central area which visually constructs a pyramid composition (black triangle), where all the dynamic activity occurs. Outside of the pyramid is mostly static, with the exception of the distant activity on the left horizon, East San Francisco Street (see second photo from top). This is also the visual source for the left to right (blue arrows) eye movement.

This painting was completed in oil colors. The canvas measures 42 inches in width by 24 inches in height.



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Detail from Santuario de Guadalupe by Tom Mallon
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Also of interest

Tom Mallon's website "MallonArt". This website will provide you with links to all his paintings, drawings and other artwork portfolios, including the ongoing series entitled the Santa Fe Portrait

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 Copyright ©2013 Tom Mallon. All rights reserved.