{"id":20279,"date":"2025-09-15T23:50:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T23:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20279"},"modified":"2025-11-23T18:32:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T18:32:39","slug":"painting-backstories-city-scenes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20279","title":{"rendered":"Painting Backstories:  City Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>City scenes, like sceneries, are something I tend to <em>photograph<\/em> instead of <em>paint<\/em>. But there are exceptions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"669\" height=\"866\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-8.10.22-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-8.10.22-PM.png 669w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-8.10.22-PM-232x300.png 232w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-8.10.22-PM-665x861.png 665w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-8.10.22-PM-19x24.png 19w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-8.10.22-PM-28x36.png 28w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-8.10.22-PM-37x48.png 37w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:35px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One is a winter morning sunrise in Europe, casting its hidden light on the balconies of a high appartment building. It almost looks like night and the veiled sun is almost like the moon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"663\" height=\"863\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-2.32.43-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19634\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-2.32.43-PM.png 663w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-2.32.43-PM-230x300.png 230w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-2.32.43-PM-18x24.png 18w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-2.32.43-PM-28x36.png 28w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-22-at-2.32.43-PM-37x48.png 37w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The other is a vista I saw when looking towards Toronto from Toronto Island. This one is a sun<em>set<\/em> scene with the lights switched on in some of the apartment and office buildings. Some rooms are unlit and through the windows the red evening sky can be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And there is the sunny reflection of a row of yellow houses in the moat surrounding them, which I found in Zutphen, an old city in the Netherlands. I actually sketched this while admiring the effect of the sunset on the bright yellow walls, and then finished the acrylic painting in the little guest apartment where I was staying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"943\" height=\"759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM.png 943w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM-300x241.png 300w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM-768x618.png 768w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM-665x535.png 665w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM-24x19.png 24w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM-36x29.png 36w, https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-7.49.28-PM-48x39.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 943px) 100vw, 943px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Especially high-rise apartment buildings always make me wonder. Each balcony, each window represents the home of one, but more than likely, multiple people. Human lives, each with their own dramas and joys. Invisible from the outside. Merely being able to make out kitchen cabinets or the blue lights of a television in the faraway windows. Neon lights in a stairway. Any idea how many windows there are in the sunset image? Just count and imagine all of the people living their life in this scene&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Click in the list below to select and view more backstories of my artworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-wpb-accordion-menu-or-category-pro-wpb-wmca-shortcode-selector\">\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_category_n_menu_accordion wpb_accordion_free_version wpb_wmca_accordion_wrapper_theme_transparent wpb_wmca_keyboard_accessibility_no wpb_the_menu_accordion\" data-shortcode_id=\"20238\" data-accordion=\"true\" data-indicator_icon=\"+\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"menu-backstories\" class=\"wpb_category_n_menu_accordion_list\"><li id=\"menu-item-20495\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-home menu-item-20495\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/\">Home<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20229\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20229\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20217\">Back stories home page<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20318\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20318\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20256\">Painting Backstories: A hairy situation\u2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20332\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20332\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20322\">Painting Backstories: about lions\u2026. did you know?<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20315\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20315\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20269\">Painting Backstories: About painting landscapes<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20304\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20304\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20296\">Painting Backstories: About sketching<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20232\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20232\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20212\">Painting Backstories: Barn window number 2 \u2013 Painting title: Help!<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20311\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20311\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20279\">Painting Backstories:  City Scenes<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20316\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20316\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20267\">Painting Backstories: Fall ploughing<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20313\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20313\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20273\">Painting Backstories:  Feline frenzy!<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20310\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20310\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20284\">Painting Backstories:  Feline portrait gets the thumbs-up!<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20305\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20305\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20294\">Painting Backstories: Goldfinch with real feathers<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20303\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20303\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20298\">Painting Backstories: How the old masters approached a portrait<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20237\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20237\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20201\">Painting Backstories: Humba the Lion<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20335\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20335\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20333\">Painting Backstories: My fascination with the wild konik horse<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20306\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20306\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20292\">Painting Backstories: Nedah; ethnic portrait<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20319\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20319\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20261\">Painting Backstories: Not all portraits take long!<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20231\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20231\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20214\">Painting Backstories: Palomino<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20309\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20309\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20286\">Painting Backstories:  Say cheese! brings levity to the studio<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20312\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20312\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20275\">Painting Backstories:  Shoe Standoff<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20314\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20314\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20271\">Painting Backstories:  Sunbeam child sequel<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20484\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20484\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20482\">Painting Backstories:  The Defiant Tulip<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20235\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20235\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20205\">Painting Backstories: the barncat \u2013 the importance of the right frame for a painting<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20321\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20321\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20263\">Painting Backstories: The goslings<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20233\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20233\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20210\">Painting Backstories: The headless hunter a.k.a. The unsuccessful foxhunt<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20317\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20317\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20265\">Painting Backstories: The kissable mouth<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20230\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20230\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20227\">Painting Backstories: The leg-selfie<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20331\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20331\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20328\">Painting Backstories:  The \u2018loving\u2019 sea turtle<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20234\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20234\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20208\">Painting Backstories: The Moody Monk<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20308\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20308\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20288\">Painting Backstories: The shepherd and the unflappable sheep: evolution of a painting<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20307\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20307\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20290\">Painting Backstories: The warrior; an ethnic portrait<\/a><\/li>\n<li id=\"menu-item-20236\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-20236\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20203\">Painting Backstories: \u2018Ustad\u2019 a.k.a. T24<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>City scenes, like sceneries, are something I tend to photograph instead of paint. But there are exceptions. One is a winter morning sunrise in Europe, casting its hidden light on the balconies of a high appartment building. It almost looks like night and the veiled sun is almost like the moon. The other is a vista I saw\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?page_id=20279\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":20217,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20279","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/?author=1","display_name":"Nicky"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 8 months ago","modified":"Updated 5 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on ","modified":"Updated on "},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on  ","modified":"Updated on  "},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20279"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20456,"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20279\/revisions\/20456"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iamnow.today\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}