Every time I go back to one of my sketches or paintings of Main Street I find it’s changed again since then, lost a building or two, added some trees. The losses hurt just a bit, taking away just another bit of the older, traditional part of Main Street. Where you see the American and Irish flags on the left is Riley’s, announcing it’s open for breakfast on a Saturday morning by putting the flags out and propping the door open. It was a bar and restaurant we lost to fire just last year, an old traditional pub style of place that I remember visiting with my father decades ago before it was known for food and music, a landmark for people to come to Carnegie to visit. They are working on reopening, and it’s all become another part of the history of this old Main Street in Carnegie.

I love quiet little street scenes, and living in a small town they aren’t difficult to find. I took the reference photo for this early on a Saturday morning in early September 2015. The day was already hot, still holding the heat of August, and a bit of a mist had risen when the sun came up; the light was warm and languid, hazy and bluish in the distance. There were people around aside from me—some of the shadows on the sidewalk are from cars—so it was just a momentary empty sidewalk. I remember paying more attention to the two flags slowly waving back and forth on the slight morning breeze so who would notice the people?

I used all Sennelier pastels on this self-prepared board because the surface is so heavily textured but it didn’t hold the pastel very well, and it turned out this had only gesso and no grit or pastel ground. I’d chosen to use this board because of its texture and knowing it could add its own level of detail in many areas of the painting. I was a little disappointed in how it performed, but I always end up liking how it turned out. I stippled the surface with a sponge, I think, and it has an interesting grainy texture. We all have to challenge ourselves sometimes.

Where to find “Main Street, September Morning”

I sold the original but always have prints on paper and canvas. Visit the product post here.

 

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