Light in Flow, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Private collection, CO
 
About this oil:
Sunsets are a great excuse to do whatever you want with color and that is what I set out to do here. I had a photo of these general shapes and began to explore the possibilities.
 
I was intrigued with the idea of not saturating the image with bright colors and allowing the center clouds to have a soft glow, making them the main focus of the painting.
 
In order to make those glowing clouds into the prominent feature of this work, I shifted the other elements to darker values and colors that would complement the central clouds and at the same time, adding more interest.
 
All of the elements were in play at once, meaning if the clouds at the top were more interesting than the hills, then changes were made to the hills below with brighter blues and richer darks. It was like a tennis match with a lot of volleys going back and forth until everything fell into a rich harmony. Each area has its own life and mark-making, coming together like a group of very  pleasurable musical chords that never stop.