This painting is from a video lesson I did for our video platforms. I was demonstrating casein paints, a milk protein-based paint used for millenia and how casein is making a comback because of it's lovely matte finish you might recognize from old books. I was also demonstrating harmonious palettes using only primaries, black and white.
I was working from a photo I took in April 2024 in Stevensville, MD at the town's historic train station. This little gift shop sits across the track from the station. It caught my eye and the next day became a video with this painting as its offspring.
A note about the colors in this painting. I didn't try at all to faithfully replicate the colors in the scene. For example, the gift shop is a plain white, the background buildings are gray and very loud yellows and blues. I wanted the little gift shop to steal the scene, so I muted the background colors, changed them around a ton and then colored the gift shop a strong yellow with a red top just for fun and color play!
This is a really fun, loose painting that has its own charm. I love that it looks like an old book illustration and it is an excellent diversion from painting in oils all the time. This is my first finished painting using caseins and I'll be coming back to them often.
Watch me paint this painting in this instructional video: