Prior to the year 2000 I was painting almost entirely landscapes and some floral paintings. The only serious abstract painting I recall doing was "Science vs Art" in 1995. I woke up in my apartment in January of 2000 and knew that it was time to start painting abstracts. I decided to paint one abstract per month, and this one was February's effort. January's effort was rather odd and it will stay in my collection for now. This one was depicting the mixed feelings a person can have at times, the dark space is the inside of one's head, then the lit-up windows are sort of the eyes looking out. There is a castle scene and a sunny day outside. This is not based on doodles, rather it was composed on the spot.
To achieve darks like this in watercolour, it is necessary to layer several times, starting with deep red or blue, and then greens and yellows, letting each layer dry before applying the next one. If you try and drop down darks right off in one layer, it looks fine until it dries, then ends with a disappointing matte grey tone. In real life, with strong light on it, this painting really shines, and the darks have extremely rich purples coming through. The photo does an okay job of showing it. I painted pretty dark like this for a decade until "The 2010 Solution" which was actually painted in 2012, after which I used a much lighter palette.
22x11" cold press. Watercolour. Feb. 2000
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