Promise Painting

Some early mornings are just imbued with the promise of a glorious future, as was this morning to me. The misty beach scene opened up to the beginnings of a rainbow. The light and vibration of the scene was filled with hope and assurance. Quite frequently I find in nature the exact feeling or reflection of what I need in that moment. Dreams (Langston Hughes 1901 –1967) Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. I used oil paint in on this canvas to produce this scene. I paint by glazing the colours onto the canvas. The sky and rainbow scene is made up of about 20 thin layers of oil paint. It is a technique used by some of the classic dutch painters and I find that the colours seem almost luminous when I apply this technique. It is a slow process as one needs to wait for the paint to dry completely before applying the next layer. Often complimentary colours are painted over each other so mixing the final colour on the canvas by the use of these layers. I love the varying textures of all ocean and beach scenes. The smooth feel of the sky directly in opposition to the grainy texture of the beach foreground. To me it resembles the contrasts of life from which we weave our stories. This piece is stretched (on a timber frame) without a decorative frame and will need the necessary hanging hardware (hooks etc) to be implemented into the stretched canvas. I generally ship in a rolled up format (without the timber frame) to keep the shipping costs down, however if you prefer I can offer a quote for shipping in a crate.