After a failed first painting and all those studies, this is where it took me. I am pretty happy with the end result, and so is my client :). A couple of lessons learned:

- When venturing out to paint an unfamiliar subject (and I've never been to New Orleans, as of today, or painted rainy nights. I have painted IN THE RAIN though) - when painting something new, it is a very good idea to do some studies. Duh! :)

- When stuck, ask for advice. Also obvious, but I'm one of those people who'd rather get lost than ask for directions. I reached out to people in the EDM group and my fan page on Facebook, and the feedback was extremely helpful.

- In addition to getting myself more familiar with the subject, the studies allowed me to try out color schemes and moods and kind of search my heart to figure out what I wanted out of this painting. I think the end result is fairly close to my initial vision.

- I need to paint more (and I could put the period here) scapes. Streetscapes, landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes. For a while now, I've had the idea of a painting project in my mind, something focused on landscapes. Maybe 30 days of landscapes. Or a landscape a week...if only I could rely on my kids to sleep simultaneously (which they never do, except at night).

In case you are wondering why I didn't sign this painting, I was asked not to do it on the front. The painting will be a part of a wall collage along with other artworks, illustrating events from the client's life. I guess the signature would be distracting or something...I'm very curious to see it when it's done.

So, what do you think about it?