I created this painting using digital techniques, based on a self-made photograph I took at night on a deserted bridge. The image shows a figure in a long mackintosh walking alone across the illuminated bridge. The warm glow of the streetlights cast long shadows and reflections on the wet road surface, while the rest of the city remains shrouded in silence and darkness.
The work plays with contrasts: the soft, almost intimate light versus the cool depth of night; the human presence versus the massive, industrial structure of the bridge. This contrast evokes a sense of alienation, but also of contemplative calm.
The style is inspired by the work of Edward Hopper, which often focuses on the loneliness of modern man and the melancholy of urban environments. Yet this is not a direct imitation, but a personal translation in which digital painting techniques enhance the atmosphere and give reality a slightly dreamy quality.
With this work, I want to take the viewer into that quiet moment, when the world seems to fall silent and only the rhythm of footsteps and the soft glow of lamps remain.
                                
Created by Geert Van Baelen with support from AI.
 
                                Geert Van Baelen has been working as a press photographer in Belgium for over 20 years. Besides current affairs, he also finds inspiration for his images in everyday life, landscapes and people... Read more…
 
                         
                         The sun sets behind a sand duneGeert Van Baelen
The sun sets behind a sand duneGeert Van Baelen Mills for energy and funGeert Van Baelen
Mills for energy and funGeert Van Baelen A field of poppies in the evening sunGeert Van Baelen
A field of poppies in the evening sunGeert Van Baelen Hydrangea in the soft morning lightGeert Van Baelen
Hydrangea in the soft morning lightGeert Van Baelen Century-old trees along a forest pathGeert Van Baelen
Century-old trees along a forest pathGeert Van Baelen Tree on an old country roadGeert Van Baelen
Tree on an old country roadGeert Van Baelen A wooden path winds through a green forestGeert Van Baelen
A wooden path winds through a green forestGeert Van Baelen A facade with historyGeert Van Baelen
A facade with historyGeert Van Baelen Looking and being looked at at the flea marketGeert Van Baelen
Looking and being looked at at the flea marketGeert Van Baelen Looking and being looked at at the flea marketGeert Van Baelen
Looking and being looked at at the flea marketGeert Van Baelen Colourful van where you wouldn't expect itGeert Van Baelen
Colourful van where you wouldn't expect itGeert Van Baelen Cuddling donkeysGeert Van Baelen
Cuddling donkeysGeert Van Baelen Sun and Shadow playGeert Van Baelen
Sun and Shadow playGeert Van Baelen At the end of a summer day in AmsterdamGeert Van Baelen
At the end of a summer day in AmsterdamGeert Van Baelen In the port of OstendGeert Van Baelen
In the port of OstendGeert Van Baelen An alley in PortoGeert Van Baelen
An alley in PortoGeert Van Baelen A musician on the Paris nightGeert Van Baelen
A musician on the Paris nightGeert Van Baelen An observation of a catGeert Van Baelen
An observation of a catGeert Van Baelen A powerful tree in vast landscapeGeert Van Baelen
A powerful tree in vast landscapeGeert Van Baelen An old ship is moored in a polder villageGeert Van Baelen
An old ship is moored in a polder villageGeert Van Baelen