Sapphire Atmosphere
This acrylic painting is 6′ tall by 4′ wide! It will be perfect to hang on any huge empty wall. Imagine it in a home with high ceilings, or in a large lobby or conference room.
Inspiration and art process
From design stages to documentation, this painting took about 6 weeks to complete. Shown here is a time lapse of the actual painting part of the process in the studio over the course of 25 days:
On my way to Breitenbush Hot Springs a few years ago, I pulled over on the side of the road to take the photo that ended up inspiring this painting. I just had to capture the beautiful moody sky framed by a row of tall trees!
Seen from across the room, this gigantic painting reads as a dramatic landscape scene. When you examine the details up close, you can see the many layers of thickly textured paint built up on the canvas.
I achieved this impasto texture by laying the ground for my painting with acrylic molding paste, and using palette knives in my painting process.
The painting technique in the details
One of my favorite signature techniques for painting trees is using a small brush to create the shapes of the tree branches by painting all the tiny negative shapes of the light shining through them from behind.
It reminds me of the Michelangelo quote: “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
After I got the basic shapes of my composition onto the canvas, I did not look at any reference photos at all. Because of this, all of the small details are completely invented.
I use a lot of abstract intuitive painting techniques, but I always incorporate this into a realistic image. Finding this balance between realism and abstraction is one of the exciting challenges of painting for me!
The painting continues around the edges of the canvas.
Sapphire Atmosphere is a giant window on your wall!
With the dark clouds moving across the sky and the sun shining through, the sky shifting dramatically by the second, this is an exciting image!
Standing in front of this painting is like looking out of a gigantic picture window.
The image of a beautiful open blue sky full of shifting clouds brings many associations: the warmth of sunshine and breeze on your face, a feeling of hope and optimism, the feeling of change blowing in on the wind, and the thrill of adventure.
The calm color palette of grays and blues encourages peaceful contemplation.
