I visited New York in October 2010 for a few reasons. To see the city in the Fall (the leaves hadn’t yet changed though), visit with some friends, and see how the construction was coming along at the WTC site. Looking for a good vantage point to capture this enormous undertaking and incredible logistical endeavor I came upon the Club Quarters, World Trade Center whose small restaurant had the perfect view to capture the gravity of it all. This is such a massive site and important subject matter that I plan on this being my magnum opus.
* Oh and if you think the perspectives are off, think again: WTC Site Master Plan. The streets are at angles and many of the buildings are polygons!
Circled in orange is the Club Quarters WTC Hotel the viewpoint I captured is from.
This is a collage of day time pics I took before sketching the site.
October, 2010 planning sketch I made sitting on the hotel’s patio.
A collage of evening pictures taken for reference.
Revisions from the study to make on the piece.
Sketching the main elements on the canvas using a projector. Its a very useful tool when you cant paint en plein air. Even Monet used a crude projector!
Almost there …about 90% done.
Finished! Over 290 hours to complete.