This painting is based off a photo I took in August of 2020. I was just beginning my junior year of high school from my bedroom thanks to a certain virus. As if quarantining for several months didn’t feel enough like the apocalypse, wildfires raging in Northern California turned the sky a dazzling yet frightening shade of orange. And so for a while, we all continued on with the world ending in more ways than we could count. But the sunsets. Those were beautiful enough to almost make up for it.
So when it came time to repaint a photo, I knew it had to be this one. I had tried physically painting it before, but I could never seem to capture the wildfire skies just right. To be honest, I’m not even sure if I got it right here. But Photoshop’s simple function of being able to take colors from photos unlocked a palette of brilliant colors for me. I think that’s what visual art is for me. It’s that perfect combination and blend of colors that can recreate not only the sight but the feeling of a sunset.
Although I’ve only dabbled in painting, the switch to a digital format still took some getting used to. The infinite colors were nice, and the undo button was a life saver, but it’s certainly an odd experience to paint with a pen. Adobe offers an almost overwhelming amount of brushes, yet none of them seem to be able to do what I wanted them to do. It took patience, but I was finally able to adjust. I still miss the feeling of a physical brush in my hand, but thrilled at the potential Photoshop has.
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