My client commissioned this painting as a surprise birthday present for her husband. It was the view from the apartment they’d lived in together in London.
They’d since moved back to Australia, and the painting was a reminder of a special time in London that had meant a lot to them both.
I settled on the composition quite quickly, with the church spire as the focal point, the city clustered to its right and a big expanse of sky overhead. In the first pencil sketches, I explored different combinations of light across that view.
I then painted four small colour sketches to try out different skies, lighting and colours in the trees. Autumn had been my client’s favourite season to watch the view, so we took the warm autumn colours and glowing buildings in the top left sketch as our starting point. We combined those with the lighter centre of the sky in the top right sketch and the little flecks of gold on the leaves in the others.
I painted another sketch to bring those ideas together, with more gold in the leaves, a brighter centre to the sky and the cloud shapes we’d chosen.
Getting the light right was the hardest part of this painting. I worked from several different photos, and initially the sky was too cool and the trees were too warm.
I cooled the shadows in the trees towards a dark blue and brought violets into the sky over the greener blues. Those changes helped the sky and trees sit together in the same light.
I particularly enjoyed building up the texture and colour variation in the trees. I wanted your eye to travel over them towards the city, but they still needed weight, depth and plenty of interest.
The little buildings were fiddly! I made sure to include the Gherkin peeking out from amongst the other skyscrapers on the right.
After a lot of pushing and pulling with the colours and textures in the sky and trees, I found a balance that captured the low, colourful light of an early autumn evening in London.
This painting was such a joy to bring together. I hope it brings back wonderful memories for my client and her husband, as they remember their early years together in London, watching the seasons change from their window.
We tried a few different framing options to bring out the colours and warm light. These mock-ups showed how the painting looked with different combinations of ivory, soft green, gold and taupe.
From the outset we knew that the painting wasn’t going to be framed and delivered in time for the birthday itself, so I made sure to arrange a print that could be gifted to him on the day.
Last Light, London
35 × 50cm, oil on linen
Interested in commissioning a painting of a place that's special to you? Email me at harriet@harrietlawlessartist.com or click the button below to learn more.
