There Goes My Shadow take 2

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.

A Murder of Crows

A Murder of Crows – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

A few months ago I learned that a flock of crows is called a murder.  That captured my attention and I decided that at some point I would paint a murder of crows.  I love crows and have painted many through the years.   Whenever I’m out and about and spot a crow I get the feeling that they have spotted me also and are closely watching. Maybe for that reason they seem intelligent, social, and somewhat mysterious to me.    After last week’s tighter still life painting I felt like doing something looser, a perfect time for this painting.

In A Murder of Crows I wanted to show a lot of movement and layers of colors through the sky and tree branches as if the crows were flying in in out of different dimensions.   I tend to wonder if they can see colors and dimensions that we are not aware of yet.  Scientist say dragonflies and cats can perceive more than humans and they are now learning that trees communicate to each other through their roots.  It’s all very intriguing to think about the miracle and wonder of our natural world.

There Goes My Shadow

There Goes My Shadow – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Lately with the US Presidential election season heating up,  I’ve been thinking about the collective shadow. Psychologist Carl Jung termed the shadow as the unowned negative parts of ourselves that we tend to project on others.  Here are a few quotes on the shadow:

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with darkness in other people.  – Carl Jung

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. – Carl Jung

Both light and shadow are the dance of love.- Rumi

These past few weeks I’ve been trying to look at my own shadow.  It has been painful but I’m feeling stronger now, more centered.  I wanted to do a painting about the shadow and the light that comes from releasing our fears.  There Goes My Shadow is the result.