Bygone Days at The Market

Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. The Market in Larimar Square in downtown Denver was one of my favorite haunts but unfortunately it went out of business during the pandemic. It was a great meeting place for artists, writers and anyone who wanted to treat themselves to the most decadent desserts in the city. I spent many hours there drawing, painting, reading and conversing with friends while sipping a cup of their famous hot chocolate. While looking through old photo's, I found some pictures of the market and decided to do this painting.

My main interest was the sunlight streaming through the window and the effect it had on everything inside. For this, I left unpainted white paper on the two figures and the sunlit shapes on the floor. When painting an iconic interior like this, I make sure to include things that are unique to the location. In this case, the unusual chairs with the heart shaped backs and the round wooden tables. Choosing to paint an empty table in the foreground was a way of inviting you into the painting while showing off the furniture. The two dark shapes on the left and right borders hold you in the painting and the blue stripes of the awning lead your eye to the two figures.

Different values of cerulean blue were used for the awning and also for the white shirts on the two people at the table. The dark shape on the right border is a mixture of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue with an emphasis on the blue. The dark wall on the left border is the same mixture with an emphasis on the burnt sienna. If both shapes were warm or both cool it would not be as interesting. For the sunlit wall, I mixed cobalt violet with yellow ochre. The table tops are burnt sienna and raw umber which are warm and cool earth tones. You can see how the warm burnt sienna on the window table shows sunlight and the stool next to the figure in shadow is painted with the cooler raw umber. The dark shapes under the tables are again mixtures of burnt sienna and French ultramarine blue. There are two different grays on the floor both mixed with cerulean blue and brilliant orange. I also used a light value of cerulean blue to indicate a few things that can be seen through the window.

On the 28th of March, 2025, I am teaching a Zoom class through my studio ONLINE titled, "The Art Of Color Temperature: Utilizing Warm And Cool Color Choices." We will explore how the proper use of color temperature can elevate your paintings. The Zoom class is limited to 8-10 artists with people already signing up so, if you are interested, send me an email to pendletonstudio@gmail.com. Happy Painting! Dennis Pendleton