Lewek Falcon | 12×16 | Oil on Linen Panel

Inspiration for Lewek Falcon

Geometrical patterns and glowing lights have always captivated me—can you spot both here in Lewek Falcon? (Hint: helicopter landing pad.) I’m not totally sure why these two things draw me in, but a couple memories stick out:

• Catching fireflies in the late evening darkness as a small child with my cousins.
• Wondering how such beautiful crystals form inside geodes.
• Reading Lord of the Rings (especially when Gandalf’s staff magically glows in the Mines of Moria).
• Discovering the golden shafts of rutilated quartz.

I’m sure several other factors resulted in my particular fascinations, but we’ll limit it to four here. Throw in the “blue hour”—that moment just after the sun has gone down—and it’s a shoo-in subject matter!

Compositionally, I also particularly liked the blue-orange complimentary composition. As I remarked in the comments on my painting Citrus and Glass Compliments, “Orange and blue oppose each other on the color wheel, and therefore create a nice color ‘vibration’ (a rather vague term!) Basically, when an artist places one of these colors near the other in a painting, it produces a pleasing effect.”

Since its appearance at the Port of Pensacola in this painting, the ship was purchased by Boskalis Offshore Fleet Management and renamed the Boka Falcon. So there, I’ve documented a tiny slice of bygone history!