A few years ago, when my husband asked me to create a painting we could reproduce on our Christmas cards, my first effort resulted in a gentle, painterly purple dove. (See
Purple Dove, also in this section of the Gallery.) Although it pleased me, my husband thought we needed something less impressionistic. My second try produced this bolder image, which we ended up using for our cards that year. During the painting process, the paper was less wet than with Purple Dove, which kept the paint more in bounds and the edges of the bird sharper. Layers of rose, green, pink, red, and violet create complexity and depth, and touches of green Art Stix create highlights on the wing closest to the viewer and on the beak. Deep violet paint applied with a nearly dry brush on the dove's head and neck gives much the same effect: the paint adhered in broken patches that reveal the paper's texture and leave the colors underneath exposed. The word "Peace," applied with a brush in the same dark violet used on the dove, balances the composition while echoing the bird's colors.
