Stunning swirling colours and the warm tones of Evening Radiance
Impressionist, soft and with a delicate and subtly refined touch the gentle nuances of this painting aim to to create thoughtful reflection and emotion……
This is one of my impressionist sunset paintings and one of my largest at 102 x 76 cm, but it’s definitely a piece I really enjoyed creating. I wanted to capture that dancing sky you see in those gorgeous seemingly never ending sunsets, where colours emerge at different moments and ascend upward, all crowned by a soft, luminous glow along the horizon.
I love the stunning, swirling colours with the warm tones gently peeping through, and the pale blues of the day still hanging on among those sunlit hues. I always like to achieve that perfect sky, yet no two skies are the same and they can shift so dramatically within minutes, so it feels like a never ending pursuit.
I build up layers and layers especially in the sky using huge DIY brushes in circular motions to create lots of movement and atmosphere, occasionally adding a spray of water so I can blend while still allowing the colours beneath to show through.
My larger paintings tend to be much more blended and therefore can take a very long time to complete. I’ve become quite a perfectionist about getting the sky just right, never quite certain when to stop.
As they can take quite a long time depending on how large they are I can become absorbed and often don’t realise how much time has quietly slipped by. I then frequently take a break and work on some smaller paintings which are much more spontaneous and help pull me out of the creative rut that larger works can sometimes create, especially when I get distracted or a painting begins to take an unexpected turn.
I like putting a lot of texture in the focal point as you can see here and adding lots of fine detail with much smaller brushes to really draw you in and encourage a closer look.
I do hope it resonates with you and reminds you of that perfect beautiful sunset you may seen somewhere.
