A candle for Christmas.
The days seem very short, and it is dark so early at this time of year in the UK. A candle seems an appropriate painting as we approach the shortest day. With everything that's going on at home and abroad, people without homes, without safety and perhaps even without hope. I , like so many of us feel sad, and wonder what can be the best way to help.
My ethos is to help where I can, donate to those charities working to support people in crisis, and then look after my own mental health, perhaps to go for a walk,
Or meet friends for a coffee
However you are feeling , especially if life feels dark for you then this candle I hope brings some light into your world. A lovely Christmassy image.
First, as always, I drew out the candle.
Then I added some colours to the wax that was dripping down the candle. I use cerulean, Blue, Yellow, Orange and green.
I carry on with all four drips.
These colours seem odd and out of context, but once we put all the other colours in, they'll all make sense. Fingers crossed.
I've also added some colour to the flame, again using blue and yellow.
Next, I painted the candle with a really rich red. It was darker at the bottom. I got much lighter at the top near the flame. I used Alizarin Crimson and then Scarlet. and some yellow ochre.
Now the holly with lots of colours being reflected in the leaves. And the lovely bright red berries always leave a little patch of white to reflect the light.
The base of the candle was painted in cerulean blue and paynes Grey.
Now the fun begins. Be quick. Be bold. Lose lots of colour. This is yellow, red. and indigo. And then I sprinkled in some salt to create texture.
It's because the background is so dark that the candle looks alight.
Finally I added some white acrylic to be my snow. I let the salt created many textures and effects around the candle.
It's fun to do and very effective.
I hope you have fun making it too.