Today’s watercolor experiment:

It was wintertime in 1991. I was on my way to Adorama in Manhattan to get some film. I don’t remember the entire route I took except when I stopped to punctuate my travel with a photo or two. The red must have attracted me. There was just something about it that made a good photograph.  I thought I could make a good watercolor from it as well.

I used a combination of carmine and cadmium reds for the walls. For the black door, I used ink, and silver ink for the door frame. The corrugated security cover sports gray and black watercolor stripes. For the lettering I used ink as well, including the ‘for rent’ sign as well as the graffiti.  The bottle cap is in the midst of a yellow/red gouache field, with blue and red watercolors to complete the bottle cap itself.

Graffiti for Rent
4″x6″ 140# Mixed Media Paper

There is a bit more mystery to the photograph:

Graffiti for Rent – Reference Photo

More drama created by the shades of red along the edges of the walls. The photo is less inviting but paradoxically entices one with a sense of danger.