3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Five sittings
Reference is my own photo
The finished mini painting shows a pentacle carved candle holder with lit tea light casting a pentacle on a nearby apple.
For the final layer I added glow around the candle flame, and painted in the candle flame.
A look back at the steps leading up to the finished painting:
Pentacle Candle and Apple - WIP3
3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Four sittings
Reference is my own photo
In this layer I added light reflection on the apple, as well as brightening and better defining the white on the candle.
Pentacle Candle and Apple - WIP2
3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Three sittings
Reference is my own photo
In this layer I brightened up the red of the apple, as well as brightening and better defining the white on the candle.
Pentacle Candle and Apple - WIP1
3″x5″ oil paint on canvas board
Two sittings
Reference is my own photo
Base layer is thin alizarin crimson
Today I first laid down a very thin layer of black paint across the entire canvas. Next I added in a cadmium light red to create the glow on the apple and brushed black back into it to create the pentacle shadow. After that I added white to create the base lighting on the candle holder.
Project: Pentacle Candle and Apple
I started this painting almost a year ago, referencing a photo I look myself at Halloween. It is a devotional work, dedicated to the sabbat of Samhain, the Celtic new year and the half-way point between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. It is the time I recognize as the start of the new year, when the harvest is almost done, winter is quickly coming, and the veil is thin. In 2012, Samhain falls on November 6.
