Amsterdam Mist (2014)

My Amsterdam Mist is the culmination of twenty-two months of work. Every element in the image was meticulously created pixel-by-pixel using Adobe® Photoshop® and Adobe® Illustrator®. It is the first piece to be inspired by the shot rather than the scene itself.

Each tree took an average of ten days to create. Extensive research was done to ensure the authenticity of the scene. The reference for the trucks, cars and bicycles was done by doing a Google search for European models of each (top figure). The boats were boats that appeared in other images taken by me in Amsterdam.

The original shot had very little detail. The day was overcast and the shot was done with a hand held point-and-shoot camera. All the details were nothing more than a blur.

One of the more unusual facts about this piece is how the details of the buildings were researched. The scene was photographed while walking from one place to another. In Google maps, the two locations were plotted allowing me to determine the precise place where the original shot was taken (middle figure). Using Google Street View, details of the structures were researched by strolling up and down the streets on either side of the actual canal.

The figures on the bottom show the process for getting detail for many of the elements in the painting. The first figure on the bottom left shows a small portion of the image, specifically, the seventh building on the first block on the right. What you see are dark smudges that seem to indicate some kind of balcony. The figure in the bottom middle shows the screen capture of the building from Google Street View. The figure on the bottom right shows how the building appears in the painting. I was able to accurately paint the details of the building from the Google reference.