If it wasn't for gelato, this most recent work would have never been painted.
The inspiration for this painting came on August 30, 2014. I had taken my daughter Betsy to the Iowa/UNI football game in Iowa City, and on the way home we stopped at Capanna Coffee & Gelato in North Liberty, Iowa. My alma mater had lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes, so we consoled ourselves with gelato.
Close up of Sunlight in a Coffee Shop
I was impressed by the sunlight blazing through the large windows, the long shadows and the colorful light fixtures. The place was nearly empty, and after enjoying our gelato, I took a few photos of Betsy at the corner table. With her iPhone already in hand, I directed Betsy to look out the window, and I took a few photos on my iPhone. Immediately, the scene reminded me of Edward Hopper's Automat.
Automat is a painting by the American realist painter Edward Hopper. (Find more work by Edward Hopper at www.artsy.net/artist/edward-hopper )
His painting was first displayed on Valentine's Day, 1927, at the opening of Hopper's second solo show in New York. Automat portrays a lone woman staring into a cup of coffee in an automat at night. The reflection of identical rows of light fixtures stretches out through the night-blackened windows.
Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927. Oil on canvas. 28 x 36"
Today, Automat is owned by The Des Moines Art Center. Several years ago, I studied the painting up close, and I marveled at it's simplicity and style. Hopper's wife, Jo, served as the model for the woman. However, Hopper altered her face to make her look younger (Jo was 44 in 1927). In Hopper's painting, the restaurant appears to be largely empty and there are no signs of activity, or of any life at all on the street outside. This adds to the sense of loneliness, and has caused the painting to be popularly associated with the concept of urban alienation.
The Beginning—Sunlight in a Coffee Shop, Sept. 4, 2014.
Though I did not see it immediately, I believe Sunlight in a Coffee Shop was inspired by Hopper's Automat.
A young woman, both dependent on and alienated by her iPhone, waits for someone who may never show. She is small in the painting, and alone. She is not in the center of the composition, yet your eye goes immediately to her. There is a nervous tension here—and a story unfolding. Did she just receive a text message, or send one? For whom is she waiting? Or has someone just left her sitting all alone? She holds her little finger pensively at her throat. What is going through her mind? There are other subtle symbols that tell a story in this painting.
In Progress—Sunlight in a Coffee Shop, Sept. 5, 2014.
In Progress—Sunlight in a Coffee Shop, Sept. 11, 2014.
In Progress—Sunlight in a Coffee Shop, Sept. 23, 2014.
I also wanted this painting to be beautiful. The colors were intense—the red wall and chairs radiate warmth. I used four different reds to get the color just right. The light and shadow create a powerful contrast—the chiaroscuro in the lower third of the painting makes the scene come alive. And there is a reflection of a light fixture.
The Hopper Method
I followed Hopper's method for painting, using "almost pure turpentine to start with, adding oil as I go until the medium becomes pure oil..." I believe Hopper's method worked. The areas in shadow are rich and beautiful, full of subtle detail that a photo just can't show. The light is warm and intense.
The title Sunlight in a Coffee Shop is a double-entendre, as it describes not only the actual sunlight, but also the young woman in the painting. I am pleased to feature my beautiful daughter Betsy, who is almost a teenager. She is a wonderful model, and a ray of sunshine in her parent's lives.
It astounds me how quickly my daughter has grown. She appears in the painting to be much older than the pre-teen young girl she is. That may be one of the reasons I painted her. I wanted to suspend time and keep her young. Years from now, I hope that she will look at this painting with fondness, and recall the happy memories of that halcyon day.
With Sunlight in a Coffee Shop, I wanted to create more than just a pretty picture. I wanted to capture a moment, in a way that a camera cannot. I wanted to paint the sunlight in a style similar to the way that Hopper painted. I also wanted to tell a story about our phone-obsessed culture, and the alienating effect that technology has on us as individuals, and on our society. And I wanted to capture Betsy's dimples. I hope I have succeeded.