The possibilities are not endless...

Here is the color studies I completed for my most recent painting, 'The Devil is in the Details'. These color studies were completed digitally.  

While the possibilities are vast, they are not endless. If you're trying to say something specific, it's your job to remove everything that doesn't support your message and keep what does. You need to be a good editor. Every color has an emotional state that must match the emotion you want your audience to feel. (Disney movies have mastered this.)

In this case it was regarding color: I had to find the most suitable fit. Deciding what the colors should be is akin to deciding what the colors can not be (Re: top left corner - what was I thinking?). Nothing quite said heat like warm colors yellow and orange. This image was kind of tricky because the painting is split in two with separate color schemes that still had to work together without being too obvious (Re: top right corner: 'Ooooooh - blue and orange, how'd ya come up with that one?'). 

I looked at cosmic and nebula photos (wanting the bottom half of the image to have a very tranquil state to contrast the fire in the top half) and saw there was a lot of blue-green. I incorporated that so it wouldn't be so direct yet still work well with the top half. (Compare top right with bottom right, the study chosen to based the final painting off of, shown below.) 

The Devil is in the Details - original tonal drawing

Feels great to check something else off the list! 'The Devil is in the Details' is now completed. The original painting is available and the original tonal study drawing is also available for sale on my online store here.  

I will be posting more of the development from the painting soon.

List of paintings to complete for 2015

('Fetch' is a painting I'm looking forward to creating, but I've had to postpone it. The vision I have for it is a larger painting too detailed to complete before the end of the year. I'm going to continue creating some smaller more affordable works for now.)

   

'The Devil is in the Details'

Here is the final painting at last!

 'The Devil is in the Details'

 acrylic on wood panel 10"x12" 

 $ available (contact me here if you are interested)

The painting was inspired by the old adage that is also the title of the painting. (If you look closely, the pen the devil hands you to sign with is dripping blood. Always read the fine print...)

What am I saying, that ALL contracts are evil?? 

NO. Contracts are a useful and recommended draft of legal terms of a deal to protect BOTH parties. What I'm saying is (and the nature of the adage above) you want to read the details thoroughly. 

What else can you do to protect yourself? If there is something written in the contract that you don't understand, it's OK to ask for clarification. Don't sign anything unless you really do understand it and agree to the terms. You may also want to hire a lawyer to look over the contract with you, albeit, for a fee.

The Devil is in the Details - last sneak peek

Here is the last sneak peek of the painting 'The Devil is in the Details' - all done!

The Devil is in the Details - color study

I've been working on a few things, but here is something new with 'The Devil is in the Details' painting still in progress: the final color study (digital).