Work in Progress: Aurora Borealis

A new work in the series of "Heavenly Bodies," I find myself painting Karla, a favorite model. Similar to a piece I did a year ago (see below), I have the figure blend with the background (sky). I love the idea of becoming the sky, or trees, or other part of nature. People, especially city dwellers, tend to separate ourselves from the natural world, and I think we are less happy for it.

I usually work with a semi-limited palette of Windsor red, Alizarin crimson, Windsor yellow, ultramarine blue, Titanium white, and transparent red iron oxide. To get the brilliance of the Aurora Borealis sky, I added Phthalo turquoise.

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Milky Way Dancer, March 2020

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