Valentine Lighthouse

It was the day before, but I finished my most recent commissioned work just in time for Valentines Day (it was a gift). Luckily I painted Christmas Crab in December so there was less rust to knock off for Valentine Lighthouse. This is a painting/sketch for the commissioned work mentioned above. Other than the layout, these are almost two completely different paintings. Because art is like music, colors or food, only you'll know which you like best

Valentine Lighthouse, 2008

Watercolor, 18" x 24" (Nelson collection).

This was commissioned by a friend and was to be a Valentine's day present. Presents are always better when you really know the person you're surprising. Well, he knew his lady loves lighthouses and apparently this was a touchdown. Now, that might be more a factor of him putting some thought into the gift vice the painting itself. But as a fledgling artist, I'll assume it's both.

I created this lighthouse through the process of looking at several photos. In the end I wanted a classic look dominating the surroundings. Since the sky wasn't overly dark, I was not getting the contrast I wanted so I made the cliffs, buildings and ground much darker then their original color. It seemed to help refocus the viewer on the light house.

Since I painted it I see things others don't, and I know there are things I would probably change. But in the end, the recipient loved it and that is always the best compliment.

the sketches...

Lighthouse, 2008

Watercolor, 10" x 15"

I was starting to work on a commissioned painting (linked below) for a Valentines Day present, but it had been almost two months since I painted. There were some things I wanted to practice and here is the result.

The primary thing I wanted to practice were the sky and clouds. I was on the fence between sharp-edged or blended clouds - left or right of the lighthouse respectively. I still hadn't made up my mind when I started the larger painting.

I also used this to experiment with the cliff. One thing I knew about the recipient of the gift was she liked abstract so I was mindful to present only the rough idea of the rocks. In the final version, the rocks were not as abstract as I wanted because there was too much white paper competing with the white of the lighthouse - hence causing too much of a distraction.

 

Lighthouses, 2008

Pencil

These were the first two sketches for Valentine Lighthouse before the third and final sketch - which was painted - was finished.

The big difference is what the focus was. Of course it was a lighthouse theme so the default is to make it the center of attention. However, in the lower sketch, I zoomed out to show more landscape.

This would show the significance of the lighthouse whereas the top sketch shows its dominance. If a lighthouse is tall, it would dominate almost any setting, but even a tall lighthouse shown in a larger, harsh, and unforgiving setting reminds us of their importance.

-mm-