At one point the above rendering looked exceedingly dark and dreary: blues, greens, and browns—nice colors but in need of some life. As I often do, I thought of the late artist, Thomas Kincade.* In one of his books, he shared that his favorite part of every painting was at the very end, when he added the light.
Now recalling Kincade’s work, I think what he had in mind was a subtle, airbrushed glow of light and not the Van Gogh-ish streaks you see here. But light is light. With all due respect to Kincade who obviously was extremely gifted, I really love Van Gogh—and inexperienced as I am, it shows. So streaks of light transformed this work from a dreary rainy day in late summer to rollicking autumn. And that’s what I’ve named the piece: Rollicking Autumn.
Margaret L. Been — 9/14/16
*I believe that Thomas Kincade was a tremendously sensitive man with a huge soul. His tragic end stands in contrast to the content of his art—which, although not the kind of thing I like to hang on my walls, is quietly soothing and nostalgic. His life was a sobering testimony to the travesty of fame and success á là Hollywood with all its phony glitz and deceptive glamour.
