Sunset at Buffalo Harbor

Acrylic on Gessobord
8" x 10"
Chris Breier © 2017

I visited the Buffalo Harbor on a Sunday evening with my brother, it's a great place to take a walk and relax. The weather was great and the sun was close to the horizon. I brought my camera so that I could take reference photos to work from in my studio. I was looking for a scene that would include the boats and the reflection of the sun in the water.

Yachts and Mills

Yachts and Mills
Acrylic on gessobord 3/4" thick (cradled)
16"x20"
Chris Breier © 2017

I happened to stumble upon this boatyard when I was walking around the Buffalo waterfront. The buildings in the background are part of General Mills which is still active. Depending on which way the wind is blowing, I can often smell the aroma of Cheerios when I walk around the city on my lunch break. I assume they also make the chocolate variety because the neighborhood occasionally smells like brownies.



The large shadow on the left side of the building is from a billboard and the horizontal shadow below it is the shadow from the Skyway. I was going to eliminate it, but it's a subtle way to incorporate the Skyway into the painting. It's somewhat of an icon in the city and you can tell when the winter weather is especially severe because it closes down.

I like how this painting captures Buffalo's industrial history and the recreational aspsect of being located on the Great Lakes.

The gessobord is 3/4" thick with the edges
left unpainted. It has a wire attached
to the back so it's ready to hang.

Splash 17 Inspiring Subjects

Boat Harbor at Dusk
Watercolor on paper
8"x10"
Chris Breier © 2016

I'm honored to have my watercolor painting "Boat Harbor at Dusk" selected to be included in Splash 17: Inspiring Subjects, published by North Light Books. My painting is on page 133, I copied the caption that appears with my painting below. Prints of this painting are for sale.

"The Buffalo, New York, waterfront is a relaxing place to visit and find inspiration for watercolor paintings. I enjoy walking near the water and often bring my camera to take reference photos of the boats, people, industrial architecture and skyline. The boats provide a variety of shapes, and the surface of the water is constantly changing; in this instance it had a silvery reflective quality. I often combine pen and ink with watercolor because the pen allows me to quickly define the details, and then I can focus on applying the washes of color. I chose hot-pressed watercolor paper because the smooth surface works well with pen and ink."

Buffalo Lighthouse

Acrylic on wood panel

8”x10”

Chris Breier © 2016

The original painting is for sale. The weather was very turbulent when I took the reference photo for this painting. There was a storm brewing over Lake Erie and the winds were cold and strong. It’s a long walk to the lighthouse and I wasn’t sure if the rain would hold out long enough for me to take a few pictures. I beat the storm, but the wind blew my hat off and I chased after so it wouldn’t end up in the lake. The bell buoy at the bottom right is from the 1920’s.

Vintage Bicycle

Vintage Bicycle

Acrylic on wood canvas panel

8”x10”

Chris Breier © 2016

The original painting is available. I spotted this bicycle when I was walking around Olcott, NY. It was in the backyard of a cottage along the shore of Lake Ontario. I like the hazy effect of where the sky meets the horizon, it creates a sense of humid summer day. This painting is on a Raymar canvas panel.

Boats and Condos

The original painting is available.
This is another view from the observation tower at the Erie Basin Marina. I used a zoom lens to get a closer view of the boat docks. What attracted me to paint this image is that it’s realistic and yet it has a number of abstract qualities. The docks created a number of patterns and I enjoyed painting the silvery reflective surface of the lake. The roofs of the condos create another pattern of shapes and the dark shadows create a strong contrast with the water.

You may also be interested in another painting of a view from the same observation tower at Erie Basin Marina.

Lake Erie

Lake Erie
Acrylic on archival Gessobord
5” x 7”
Chris Breier © 2015

The original painting is available.
This past summer I spent an afternoon at the Erie Basin Marina and I walked to the top of the observation tower to get a better view of Lake Erie. It’s the values that create the sense of depth and light in a seascape painting. I struggled with this at first but that’s normal; I had to get some colors down first before I could make a judgement about whether it was too light or dark.

Buffalo (SOLD)

"Buffalo"
Acrylic on canvas
18"x24"