What a difference a photograph can make...

Painting with reds invites certain challenges, one of which is getting a representative photo. All of my attempts were complete failures, with the reds and the oranges washing out against each other. I'm sure part of the problem is having the right camera, but equally frustrating is not quite understanding how the lighting influences the photograph. Luckily, a professional photographer stepped in to save the day, and now I have a picture that is as intense as the painting itself. This really makes all the difference in the world.

This painting is called Mexican Kitchen I, and it is inspired by my many trips to Mexico over the years. I have not been since 2012, which makes me sad, so I guess I had to start painting it out. The colors vibrate so strongly against each other that they almost jump off of the canvas, which is exactly the effect I was going for.

30 x 30 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. Note that I used naphthol red instead of primary magenta.