A Personal Challenge - Capturing Light

I had another project in school that allowed me to be totally in charge of my next few paintings. The only criteria was it had to be a personal challenge. Something that I wanted to lean or practice or try, something that maybe I had never done before but had always thought of trying, but was too afraid of failing.

So I chose fireworks! What better way to challenge my love for seeing and using colour than by trying to paint coloured light flashes. Yeah no problem...

I absolutely love fireworks so I was not lacking for personal reference material - I had at least two Canada Days worth of fireworks to filter through, plus the never-ending source that is the internet. The internet, and technology in general, is just so scary and intimidating to me that I try to avoid it as much as possible. There will always be better and better pictures of fireworks, fantastic displays of colours and light, that it very well could have been made on photoshop and isn't an actual representation of what we may see in real life. Which is why I like to use personal reference material. If I didn't see it in my daily life, then why do I think I could reproduce it in art?

I tried a couple smaller versions of fireworks before getting impatient and moving right to the large, stretched canvases I had prepared in great anticipation of this assignment. It was a different sized canvas than I was used to painting on - way more vertical and not much in the horizontal category, but I love trying new things and the weird shape made me excited. I even took it one step further and made my second fireworks in oil so I could show the difference between the two mediums in their light and colour. I thought if my acrylic painting didn't end up catching the fireworks glow I wanted, maybe the oil could. I have an actual gold oil paint that I used that I think adds nicely to the effect of fireworks, as well as a stringy medium I glazed over top for texture, and even though my acrylic fireworks are not textured and don't sparkle, I think I captured their energy and their essence with the brush strokes and the dark background.

Acrylic Fireworks

Oil Fireworks

I'm hanging my fireworks in my hallway right now which is not an ideal place for them, because of their size and subject, I think they need to be much higher and in natural light. Being hung so low and in a dingy hallway does them little justice and causes them to go unseen, so I need you to come take them home. Put them in some light behind a vase with some flowers in it. That would look nice.

More about the paintings: They are both about 43 inches long x 22 inches wide (almost 4 feet x 2 feet) and 2 inches thick, and as I've said, they are acrylic and oil respectively. Both painted on a stretched canvas, frame built by me.

I do not think they need to be sold as a set. They relate very little to each other, other than theme, and I think they would appeal to different audiences. I am looking for $250.00 - $300.00 each, but I'm more lenient with the prices on these ones. They don't belong with me anymore and I'm really excited to see who feels inspired by the fireworks. Please share if you have a friend who loves fireworks and needs a Grace Original in their life. <3