I’m finally done with this new painting: Elora With Christmas Lights.
This was a tricky one. I spent most of January and some of February getting it right. There are several different light sources of different colors, intensities, and angles. It was a minefield of optical tricks and illusions. There’s also little room for error when painting your daughter—mistakes tend to stand out! The drawing had to be spot-on before I could introduce color.
A good lesson from this painting is to pick a challenging subject and really commit to it. Throw yourself into the deep end and see what happens. You’ll learn far more than if you always play it safe.
This painting forced me to think deeply about drawing, color, and perspective, and I experienced several ‘a-ha’ moments. I could just stay in my lane and stick with pleasant landscapes in an impressionist style, but I would eventually plateau and lose interest.
I’ll have a few other lessons from this painting for you soon, but for now, I just wanted to share the painting and move on to the next one (and an easier one, I think).
Happy painting!
Dan Scott
Draw Paint Academy
