Sooner Than Later

Sooner than Later – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

We’ve been sheltering in place for about four weeks now. It’s getting tiresome, but at least the spring season is beautiful here. With the loud city sounds gone, the quiet brings back memories of an earlier time, a sense of calmness prevails. On my daily walks it’s easier to notice the birds singing and it’s also fun to see so many young families out and about.

Prior to the pandemic I had planned to get more framed prints out into local cafes and yoga studios and also to seek out galleries that may want to show my originals, now with all that on hold, I’ve got plenty of time to paint. Sooner than Later is my newest painting. Can you tell it was inspired by the pandemic?

I love painting both doves and crows and this is my third painting with both together. I view doves as a symbol of peace and crows as a symbol of magic and transformation. It was fun to paint, I spent hours playing with colors of the orbs within the sky. The particles we breathe in and out connect us all, for better or worse.

I wanted to do an uplifting painting using both light and darkness. Covid-19 is revealing dark outdated systems that don’t work for the welfare of all. Hopefully, sooner that later, our world will change for the better; with more peace, less war; more harmony, less destruction of our natural world and more equality for all people throughout the world.

There Goes My Shadow take 2

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There Goes My Shadow 2 – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

There Goes My Shadow is a painting I blogged about a year and a half ago that I  recently reworked.   Last month as I began the recent painting Moonlit Dove and Sunlit Crow,  I took a look at this older painting because of the similar theme of dealing with the shadow.   I realized then that the painting looked weak.

I have added more color and contrast to to help pop out the fall colors and I also reworked the girl’s face.   My painting teacher used to have us do an exercise of painting in a darkened room since it would naturally force us to use more contrast with the lights and darks.  It was a helpful lesson and it came to mind as I looked back that this painting.  I think it works better now.