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Black white and ready

Since the client has decided to let me be the judge of when this painting is finished, without seeing the finished painting in its entirety, and since I am fully aware of what their wishes are, I knew yesterday that I had virtually finished it other than adding textures in the poignant parts of the acrylic paint. 

And today looking at it afresh and just doing the final touches and of course signing it, I can stand back with a big smile on my face with this painting. I’ve loved doing it, I’ve loved creating it, and discussing it with the client who has given me the sort of artistic licence I prefer to let me make the creative decisions with it, around their stated wishes.

I love the fact some parts have lots of texture in it, and some parts don’t.

I love the three colours in it, just black, white, and red. Although I have used two reds in the painting, to give more depths to the scarlets one leaning towards the orange side, and the other to a bluer shade of red, to make the darker reds I mixed red and black together which hints at maroons and browns, and when the reds were mixed with white, the shades become pink, salmon pink, and hints of palest pink. So the red parts have a lot of depth of colour and tone because of those colour choices.

But also I love the contrasts which are created with the blacks and whites to make so many shades of grey. Because when you only have those limited shades, it makes the picture become more powerful I think, as the shades make their own statement, of being sold black, or solid white, or every shade of grey from dove grey to almost black between.

Whilst I think all of this painting works well and is well balanced, its the six stars that stand out the best being pure white against the solid black. I loved painting them, as they are just white flashing sparks of pure light.

Whilst I have not said what the subject matter is, I think there are enough hints to give clues as to what it might be, although there are symbols within the painting that may have relevance to various people, and even those who don’t recognise them will be curious as to their meaning. Before I started painting this picture I was only aware of a few of them, so I have learnt their meanings as I’ve done the research for this painting. I’ve loved doing it, and will be sad to see it go, but know that its going to exactly the right home, where it belongs…