The Lightening (study of the whale) 24” x 30” oil on canvas
This a study for a larger scene. It’s zoomed in on the whale and two men. The broader scene is attached in its very rough digital birth. I have also uploaded the digital mock up of the entire series, the Inevitability of Light. I really hope you enjoy it. Your feedback is welcomed!
I keep coming back to the posture of those two figures against the mass of the whale. There's something in that scale relationship that puts you right there on the beach. When I was shooting stranded pilot whales on the Virginia coast years ago, the hardest part was finding the right distance to stand, the right lens to use, because nothing prepares you for how big they actually are when you're next to one. You've nailed that feeling here. The light washing over the form is working too, that sense of atmosphere changing the local color as it moves across the body.
😊 Thank you so very much for your feedback! I’m excited to see how each element develops. I’ll probably zoom into each element and work it out in a similar fashion.
* Fun fact, I made that canvas out of a duvet cover. I had financial challenges and couldn’t afford big canvases. My neighbor is a saint and built the frame and I stretched and prepared the canvas! When the going gets tough, the tough ask for help and get creative!
Welcome in, Prydecommaj!
Zooming into the whale and the two men for a focused study shows real restraint, you're building toward something larger by understanding the smaller moment first. That's how series work best.
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The silhouette work here is doing exactly what it needs to, you've kept the whale and the two figures as pure shapes, no detail fighting for attention, which lets the weight of the scene land. That's a hard choice to commit to at this scale. The sky gradient reads like late twilight, that compressed window where there's still color but the land has already gone dark. I'm curious how the larger composition opens up around this moment, because this study already feels like it's holding something quiet.