Becky's photoblog

Finished another painting!

I started a handful of paintings in 2010, then a few things came up in 2011 – a few painting commissions and several months of wedding planning kept me away from other projects. So now I’m putting the finishing touches on paintings that were about 80% finished two years ago.

I take a lot of pictures for a lot of reasons, and one of them is that some photos eventually turn in to paintings. In September 2009, my dear friend Maureen and I went out to lunch on Boylston Street — two photos from that day would eventually become paintings (one’s not done yet).

Old South Church
Copley Square, Boston
oil on 12x20" canvas
2012-2012

Old South Church
Copley Square, Boston
oil on 12×20″ canvas
2010-2012

Old South Church, Fall 2009

This is a painting of Old South Church — a gorgeous church in a city full of gorgeous churches. In September 2009, I snapped a photo (on the right) that contrasted the colorful early-Fall leaves in the church’s award-winning garden with the sun-lit stone work of the church. The following winter, when I decided to begin a painting of this scene, I realized that I needed more pictures because I wanted to include the church’s beautiful bell-tower. So I grabbed this photo, hopped on the T, found the exact spot that I had been standing and re-framed my shot to include the tower.

Then, I heard the most beautiful music coming from inside the church, and suddenly it dawned on me — it was December 24th!  I stepped in to the church, which is gorgeous on any day, and absolutely stunning when it’s decked out for Christmas (photo on the right). I sat down and enjoyed a magical, beautiful, peaceful organ rehearsal, then headed home to start a new painting.

The church’s founders chose an incredible location for their church. Old South Church was built in 1875, next to the Boston Public Library (built in 1848), and across Copley Square from Trinity Church (built 1872-1877). The finish line of the Boston Marathon, established in 1897, is steps away from Old South Church. In 1914, the Copley T station was built right next to Old South Church, and now thousands of commuters and tourists pass it each day. The John Hancock Tower, New England’s tallest building, was built across from Old South Church in 1976.

Old South Church, interior
Christmas, 2010

Links

• My photoblog: Link to my photoblog entry from 9/5/2009 (lunch and coffee w/ Mo, and Old South Church) and my photoblog entry from 12/24/2010 (Old South Church, interior and exterior, at Christmas)
• Architectural Landmarks of Boston’s Back Bay: One of my web projects is a series of pages with photos and information on several of my favorite landmarks in Back Bay — please visit this site, especially the pages on Old South Church, the Boston Public Library, Trinity Church and the Hancock Tower
• Please visit Old South Church’s website to learn more about their fascinating history and their wonderful programs
• Please visit beckydimattia.com to see more recent paintings

Posted on Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 in the Boston, churches, my paintings category.
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