Sunday 10 May 2020

The Light Is Already Within


This is part two of my previous post about Qor Watercolours, this painting makes creative use of the extensive feathering effect that some of the Qor watercolours exhibit. 

I left the first rough idea and sketch next to the first phase of the painting so you could see how most of my art happens. It usually starts with a very simple idea sketch with just a handful of basic notes of where I want the piece to go. I do this in case I do not get the time to make a finished piece immediately; with so many kids in the house and under a stay at home order I do not get much art time and notes help me reconnect with the idea at a later stage.
I had the idea of an egg of light in the centre, however I decided against it because I realised that I had read about this Egg of Light in a book I had read a couple of months ago and I did not want to copy this imagery.

Here you can see the first base layer, made with a mix of high flowing Qor and non-spreading Holbein Watercolours.



This is what it looked like after it has dried. My goal was just a rough gradient from light to darker as you move away from the centre.



I then added masking fluid with a mylar cone, I use this way of applying the fluid because it is the easiest way to prevent and deal with clogged tips.



This was my favourite stage of the painting: working very wet and watching the feathering unfold. I used Qor Phthalo Blue and also a mix of reds I had on my mixing palette to convey a bit of a galaxy effect.





Now I had to add another creamy layer so that the masked off leaf design would stand out afterwards. And to be honest, this is where I started to go wrong in a way...



As you can see I ended up with an egg shape after all. Now I could not resist the urge to add something shimmery, after all, it is supposed to be leaves of light. And I ended up with...


An egg! Quite obviously I really wanted to make an egg shape, as in my original planning stage for the painting. I do actually like how the shimmery leaves came out and I love the feathery blue effects.

What is this painting all about, though? It is about finding The Light Within, the Hope, the piece of Spirit, the Soul that I believe is in every living being. The book I have referred and linked to above is a very good description of the journey to discover this piece of Light Within. 
This painting really symbolises that the Light is already inside. It is not (and never was) outside of us and because it is a part of us we can actually find access to it. It is not unobtainable but right here, within (!) our reach. That to me is a very comforting thought and realisation. 



No comments: