[for Lana Dyer]
I’ve got quite a number items in the works lately — illustrations and paintings. One particular oil painting that I wanted to share the progress on is dedicated to my great friend, Lana Dyer.
I am allowing a few weeks of drying time in its current state, so I thought it’d be a good time to post some progress photos.
A Light in the Void
After some time since Lana’s death, I have wanted and needed to create a visual representation, meant to illuminate the very vital role she played in my life.
A majority of my pieces start with a title, an emotion, or concept and grow from there. This piece is no exception; laying in darkness, meditating on recent events and contemplating Lana’s reaction and our times together, the mind wanders. Over the years, I often conspired, and divulged new ideas for art projects with Lana. Her perspective and observations were invaluable.
Coming from a place of grief, tremendous loss, and darkness — having the sense that life has no meaning other than to be a participant, can be overwhelming. As my closest friend, Lana gave me a great deal of hope and sense of connection to the world. My desire is to exemplify that hope and to some degree the love that she and I shared in A Light in the Void.
The Process
I have coated various shades of reds and blues in black for dimension to the dark ‘void.’ I look for variation in shadows and texture of the paint to give some form and dimension to the darkness. I applied the layers wet-on-wet. Adding layers of wet paint on top of another often provides interesting reveals of color or blends beneath when moving the palette knife or brush over a fresh coat.
While I am happy with the current permutation, I am at a point now where I will let the paint dry considerably before adding new hues. I want a few more shades and shadows before adding the final touches. Allowing this to dry to a degree will keep the current textures and colors from blending too much with the new layers of paint.
To complete the abstract, I will add the swatches of warm grey and orange-yellow ‘droplet’ as illustrated in my sketch.
The Progress
I’ll post more photos as this work in progress continues. Check out the photos below, [ the final image being the most recent ].
Update:
Be sure to check out the completed painting, and buy a print at Saatchi Art.
