New Eiffel Tower Painting

I have wanted to do a painting of the Eiffel Tower in Paris for some time. On our last trip to Paris, I had captured it on film on an especially beautiful day. Over time, I tried different initial rendering experiments, but was never happy with the results. I didn't like where it was headed, so like most projects that hit me wrong, I put it aside for a while to let my brain work on it in the background.

In October of 2004, after the art tour season ended, I decided to do some experiments using an Impressionistic style. After a few initial failures, I hit upon a technique that I liked. The first one that I completed that I was willing to show was a painting entitled, "Paula's Garden."

It was a radical change from anything that I had ever done before, so like many of my works, I thought about it long and hard before ever showing it. Paula's Garden was first shown at my one man show in Ephrata in December of 2004.

But, while I was thinking about whether to publish Paula's Garden, I decided to see if this new style would work on the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't long before it was clear that this Impressionistic style would work for me on this mighty subject. After some initial experiments, I decided to make it less bold than Paula's Garden, but still hold that Impressionistic look and feel. I also wanted it to have a lot of color as that is what my works are known for.

When the work was nearly completed, I made the decision that the work was to be shown initially only on canvas and that it had to be the largest print I have ever attempted. After putting in the final details, I printed it out on a large 24x36 canvas, then mounted and framed it.

It has been entered in the Columbia Basin Juried Invitational show and, if accepted, will be shown at the MAC gallery in Moses Lake beginning January 29. It will also be shown in another gallery in Vancouver, WA, as soon as final arrangements are completed.

For now, the work only exists in its large canvas form. It is a limited edition print of only 50 copies. There may be a smaller paper Gicglee print done in the future.

The work, entitled simply "Tower," shows the famous structure from the large grassy area known as the "Champ de Mars", or "Mars Fields," so named because Napoleon used to march his troops in the area. Through the legs of the tower, you can see the "Palais de Chaillot," which features a large outdoor balcony for a different view of the tower.

To see the work on my web site, go to:

http://www.corkrum.com/jim/tower.htm