Nocturne in Violet

I met the wonderful artist Chris Gwaltney last summer when he was featured in a gallery in town. He is a delightful person, came with his wife and dogs and is an incredible abstract painter. I believe he has also taught painting and I was pumping him with questions about abstraction and his painting practice and he mentioned that he likes to set challenges for himself to keep it interesting and to think a bit outside the box. For that particular show, which was all painted on very large canvases, he challenged himself by using only small brushes.

For this painting, as well as Adagio in Blue, the challenge I set for myself was to not use orange in the dramatic sky. Since I am a fairly literal painter and interpreter of nature, this was a push. I really like the results.