Times Square, New York

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Painted en plein air by Nick Grove.
This was, in my view, the most successful painting from the trip. In hindsight, that’s because it remained faithful to the experience I was actually having. Earlier attempts at painting New York left me feeling overwhelmed by the city and dissatisfied with the results. Here, I stopped short—working within the moment before the intensity tipped into excess.
The painting captures Times Square in its most enjoyable state: early enough that the energy is present but not yet overpowering. If you look closely, you’ll spot my VW campervan, Uma, parked within the scene—a familiar presence on many of my journeys.
I was drawn immediately to the high-key light created by the bright sky and the wet road. From the outset, I established the lightest and darkest values—the brightest being the reflections on the water, which anchored the entire composition. From there, I worked outward, judging subtle shifts between sky and ground.
The darkest notes sit beneath the nearest boats, though even these remain relatively soft, requiring careful balance across the mid-tones. Distant edges were softened to suggest aerial perspective, while the foreground was kept sharper and more saturated to draw the eye forward.
Painting contre-jour—directly into the light—naturally mutes colour. Rather than resisting this, I embraced it, allowing the painting to become a study of light, reflection, and atmosphere.