I’ve always loved vintage posters. I’m finally tackling my version in a painting of a Vespa, a modern classic, in acrylics on a 30×40 canvas. I took reference photos at the Vespa shop at NW Vaughn and 23rd in Portland. I liked the pose of the orange scooter, the “Buddy”!

My vision is of a Vespa surrounded by the phases of the moon. I’m not keen on the orange an I like the touches of red: the lines are painted in cadmium red after toning the canvas with yellow ochre. These two images are on the 16×20 support, testing out composition and color combinationsd am imagining a cream-y, maybe Naples yellow-y cream, warmer than the cream-y blue-white of the moons.

In order to work out the design and colors, I first paint a 16×20 study. (Upload image into Photoshop, crop and reverse the Vespa, print on 8.5×11. Trace line drawing, test different scales, and transfer taped-together enlargement to canvas using transfer paper.) The outlines are painted in cadmium red after toning the canvas with yellow ochre. These two images are on the 16×20 support, testing out composition and color combinations. The second shows the background of blue-black space and the Vespa logo in rust red.

So far so good. Now to figure out how to make a far more accurate depiction of the Vespa on the 30×40 canvas.