An Acrylic Painting in Progress: Ideas and Insights

'The Deluge,' stage 1, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

As a second post today I'm posting another canvas I'm currently working on. I began from marks (above) which were not planned but I had been thinking about the chaos and sadness of the world, in particular the explosions over Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. I wanted to paint about a deluge but with light appearing over the distant mountains. Rivers, waterfalls and mountains often are a source of material for me though I tend to use them partly as metaphors for human existence or as shapes to build an idea upon.

In the second stage, below, I have begun tweaking elements and introducing more light. While the other painting, 'Coastal Poem,' posted earlier today, went through many changes before I began to find a form for my ideas, (and the ideas evolved while painting), this one seemed to take on a form quite early on and I have not strayed too far from that composition. I decided to modulate the tones and brightness of certain colours to see if it helped the meaning and composition and consequently the painting has become brighter. 

When I paint I like to think about the sources of my ideas and mark making. I don't want to know too much or else it could become a formula, but I'm always sifting through and trying to widen my approaches, while concentrating also on paint itself and what magic it can create. 

'The Deluge,' stage 2, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

To be continued!