ON THE PATH INTO THE LIGHT

16'x 20" mixed medium on panel # 109

I got the original idea for this painting from the photo above ,taken by Meagan Rice, my daughter in law.  I decided to do it as a Christmas gift and gave it to her this year.

This is the unframed finished  painting below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will now give a brief description of my painting  process in this piece , my thoughts behind this paintings symbolism and some general observations regarding the whole experience.

 In the original photo I loved the position of the figures , the older child Marley is leading the younger Haddie down what appears to be an unknown path . At this age , four and two, they are entering the unknown path of life, they are on their own individual journey, not knowing the destination. It was then that I got the idea using light in the form of the sun rays to symbolize the light of life . Light is one of the most universal and fundamental symbols. It is the spiritual and the divine, it is illumination, intelligence and guidance. Light is the source of goodness, hope and the ultimate reality.

So, the full title which I wrote on the back of this painting is  ...
  
"Haddie and Marley, on the path, into the light." 

I did a couple drawings, sketches to get the idea right first .

I gessoed a 16" x 20" cradled panel in several layers in a blue grey tint.. The last drawing above is a drawing I did directly on the panel before I started painting, using an ebony pencil.

Here I have applied my first coats of acrylic . Using a mix of titanium white, a hint of cobalt blue and acrylic glazing liquid I am starting to develop a radiating effect with paint strokes coming from a center of where the sun will eventually peek through the leaves above. The paint strokes are radiating downward in all directions from that center.

On the bottom I have established a base coat of acrylic  burnt umber mixed with pumice medium gel. The paint strokes are  radiating upward toward the center and also tapering off toward the center where the path  will curve. This helps, early on, to create a sense of depth of field by just using texture to your advantage. The pumice gritty texture is mostly at the bottom with very little texture toward the center. The road texture toward the center will have no pumice , just paint stroke texture curving slightly left where the path will bend.  

In the photo above notice that in order to get even more texture in the  road and give the appearance of uneven  sized pebbles I washed out and used  beach sand. I simply applied it by mixing glazing liquid medium with the sand. This was applied in the bottom of the painting only, in such a way as to not get the pebbles onto the area where the figures are, and not going too far up past the figures. Then after it dried I painted over that with a mix of burnt umber , cobalt blue, titanium white and glazing liquid . (see below)

The next step was to block in the base, raw, colors for the trees and grasses. I used a mix of mars black, cad yellow med , titanium white, cobalt blue  and glazing liquid. For the grasses in the foreground I used a very coarse welders brush to get the grass texture . I also used very coarse bristle brushes. ( below) 

Then below I refined the tree colors , branches, grasses and road . Also at this point I am again working on the sky with different glazes , reds, blues and yellows, and at the same time developing the sun rays peaking through the branches above .

I then needed to create an haze effect to give the background a sense of depth , added some flowers , refined the colors in the branches and leaves , put smaller branches in and then worked on the first coats of paint for the figures.

I was almost done I just needed to work on the figures more get the road colors right with different glazes, create a little shading, work on the shadow areas, etc .

I want to add a little note here on detail. When I first started painting I was a slave to detail. I actually thought I wanted to be a photo realist. But as time went on and through much study on what the art of painting really is compared to the art of photography, I naturally loosened up in my approach. I wanted to use texture more and more . I also wanted to keep my paintings simple and so I only concentrate on detail where it is absolutely needed. I use photographs as a starting point only in developing an idea . I will not put a lot of effort in getting something photo realistic because  photography is the best art form for that.

Most of my paintings have a hidden symbolic message . In this one it is all about our inner journey down "the path" of uncertainty, toward all that which "light" symbolises. As children we may start out holding another's hand but eventually we are all on our own, each following an unknown path, towards finding truth and  meaning in life. At the end of the road maybe we will all find what is that ultimate reality which we all seek.

The two figures in this painting represent my two grandchildren. May this generation of children  find great Love, Joy, Peace, Hope and  ultimate meaning in their lives.