Magic of the Night (completed) – Painting of the Week

Finishing a Painting

Solving a mystery is exciting. Magic of the Night is now complete. Sometimes I think a painting is done and you later decide it needs more. I felt so much love for this piece from the very beginning. Despite that love, it’s good to review it with fresh eyes. Coming back patiently is the most powerful way to finish a piece.

See the “before” below. Part of finishing a piece is cleaning-up edges and another is balance. I loved how the bright intense lights popped out of the dark, but they needed to be refined. By reducing some of the lights, they read better and became more significant. The biggest change in the piece was in the edges. The edges of shapes are touchy, powerful and extremely important in any painting. At night, distant trees look fuzzy in the light. First, I painted the mountain irregularly back into the trees, and then I fuzzed the trees back into the mountain. The back and forth of those actions was repeated until I liked them. It made an amazing difference. I now feel this painting is absolutely precious.

Sincerely,

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P.S. Magic of the Night won 1^st place in the open division last night at the: 

Coachella Valley Watercolor Society Annual Show & Sale

I hope you can see the many beautiful watermedia pieces in the exhibition at the Artists Center in Palm Desert on display until March 8^th.

Here is Magic of the Night prior to the finishing touches:

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