Week 119

It was pitch black. We crept into the room desperately trying not to giggle outright as our bodies clumsily bumped in our futile efforts to be silent. 

Our eyes began to adjust. In the dimness we saw our little girl cradling a candle (battery operated of course... heeellooo 21 st Century!) that grandma had given her to keep the darkness at bay. The candle had slid to the side as she lolled into a deeper slumber. The glow that flickered over her innocent face and angel soft skin was mesmerizing. 

We built this one in stages. Since the paintings in this series are alla prima for the most part, layers are a luxury we can only get with certain technique. We began bold and in Zorn, shepherding ochre and umber beside ultramarine and cad red. One color to lay in by another in a vibrant array. Then we covered it. Almost all of it. It was exciting to lay a coat of umber over most of the painting, wiping away in some parts, thickening others. The vibrancy receded into the shadows- yet gave it the pulse, the warmth and depth of her young form. It pushed the luminous warmth of the candlelight to the fore, making the overall blackness of night so full of depth and life as if to say “it is night, but you have not won”. 

The Last Embers

20x16 | Oil on Canvas