Sunset No.150

Beginning this project at an arbitrary time in January, and painting three sunsets a week on the same days (mon, wed, fri), I had no idea of the significance of the particular day on which it would end. I only knew I was to paint 150 paintings when I started, I gave no mind to the day it ended until it this day.

After receiving an email from a friend about what this day meant to the world and not just me, I was very surprised. First, I knew the world was supposed to end on 2013 according to the Mayan calendar and the highly publicized reports, but who knew it ended on December 21st? the same day as my last sunset! If anything I thought it ended January 1st. The final surprise, as if the world ending was not enough, was that today was the winter solstice. I had to google winter solstice to even see what that meant. I found that it was quite a significant event indeed, marking the first day of winter, and it is also the shortest day of the year and the longest night. The solstice is in short, the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days, and also the day the sun heads back in the opposite direction in my case back to the right.

Affirmations are something I look for in life and this was certainly an affirmation to me. An affirmation that this project was blessed, is blessed, and will continue to be blessed. You see this project is about painting, but not just that, it's about prayer, doing the thing you are called to do, and not giving up.

Sunset No.149

Company was a great thing for me on this journey. And this evening I had the pleasure of painting with Blair, the painting student whom I had already done over a dozen sunsets with. Arriving late, Blair finished already, watched as I clipped on my trusty light and began painting the last glow of the evening. The warmth of the sky was beautiful and something I hadn't painted in a while due to overcast conditions. A mere silhouette comprised the ground as the glow in the sky overtook and gave meaning to this one.

Sunset No.148

Cold and grey, with no sign of the setting sun. On days like this I've grown to like adding small bits of color in unusual places. This time the distant street lamps left behind an orange glow that seemed a sufficient and welcome addition to this cold evening.

Sunset No.147

A brilliant orange glow permeated the air from the lower left, combining with the blue sky above creating an intense visual experience.

Sunset No.146

Dark, gloomy, and grey, another sunset with no sun. The lack of color and light was made up by the dim orange glow of a couple street lights in the distance.

Sunset No.145

An awesomely beautiful sunset. Full of blue grey clouds that parted way for a yellow grey backdrop. Under the lighting conditions the ground was dark and rich, while the water caught the light brilliantly.

Sunset No.144

Working on top of a highly textured canvas can be interesting. I used more paint than usual to capture this one, but it was necessary in order to cover the painting underneath.