After working on the “Boston Harbor - I” piece, I decided to fold in a bit more ink, albeit still after finishing the majority of painting. This little car captured my gaze while I was in Firenze taking time with another artist who inspires me in so many ways. I chose to work off of this specific photo mainly because of the shadows and shading, which allowed me to continue experimenting with my underpainting techniques.

The color of this little electric car fascinated me as well, with its shiny lavender surface that rippled and sang in the light and shadows. After laying out a basic sketch in pencil, I began by laying down a light coat of yellow for the highlights and a coat of purple in the shadowy sections.

Once these sections dried completely, I began to paint, adding in the highlights and little sections of blue where the sky reflected off the chrome. Only after I had finished the bulk of the painting did I add in the ink — making this piece similar to my previous “Boston Harbor - I” and “Il Mare - I” works. While I was pleased with my first attempt at this piece, I did notice that the Van Dyke Brown ink which I used seemed to stand out more than usual and that I had more difficulty in laying down thinner strokes — perhaps due to the change in texture from the water.

A happy accident led me into the world of texture. Initially I felt as though the road was “too thick” in its grey color, so I rewet the surfaces and padded them out with a white rag. Not only did the rag mop up the color, but left an impression of the surface of the cloth in the artwork — providing the texture that I had sought to capture through my pen’s strokes. I do anticipate experimenting more with this technique in the future, perhaps even adding texture and depth with the set of sponges that I keep on hand.