The Light at the End of the Tunnel – acrylic painting

Hope -The Progress of Mankind , Part 4

We see the back of a naked figure standing in a lush forest  , looking out towards a beautiful green light in the distance - in acrylic . Is this the light at the end of the tunnel ?
Light at the End of the Tunnel – acrylic painting

I painted this picture back in April – I was just longing for some relief from the worry and grief I felt at the height of the pandemic. I’ve waited quite a long while before showing it but perhaps now is the time? The Light at the End of the Tunnel -is there some now ?

Artist’s Inspiration for ‘The Light at the End of the Tunnel ‘

The idea for the painting came to me quite instinctively . I was walking through a small park , enjoying looking at the tree blossom and the new growth on all the plants . And I suddenly thought about how vulnerable we are to illness or viruses . So I decided that the figure should be naked to symbolise the defenceless feelings a lot of us have had , during this pandemic . I also pictured him in luxuriant foliage . I was , no doubt , influenced by the scene in the garden I was walking through !

Light at the End of the Tunnel – acrylic painting

I think I was gradually working towards this idea . Just have a look at this mixed media journal page I created in March this year , to cheer myself up. I called it ‘ A Brighter Day ‘ It was very intuitive , but afterwards I realised it was a picture of hope , breaking through like a glorious sunrise .

A semi-abstract view of light seen through the trees - mixed media  blue and orange  . Is this the light at the end of the tunnel ?
A Brighter Dayin acrylic

My ‘ Progress of Mankind ‘ Series

And the other stage in the process was , of course , my ‘Paradise ‘ painting . Here I portrayed the Earth as a wonderful , unspoilt world in the trilogy that I created for a commission proposal earlier this year.

A semi abstract acrylic painting of a lush jungle with insects and birds - pink  , green and golden yellow .
Paradise

You could say that ‘ Paradise ‘ was Part 1 , then ‘ Hell on Earth ‘ Part 2 came next , followed by ‘ Free Spirit ‘Part 3 . You can see the whole story in this post here . But now I can see that ‘Light at the End of the Tunnel ‘ Part 4 comes next in the story . I’ll show you Part 5 in a little while . None of this was planned . But I realise , with hindsight , that my intuitive inspiration was steadily moving through these past events and helping me to cope . I wonder if anyone else has noticed any effects on their art practice ?

Light at the End of the Tunnel – acrylic on canvas .

A Triptych of Acrylic Paintings

The Progress of Mankind

All now be revealed ! You may remember , a few posts ago , I showed you two large , abstract canvases which formed part of a series of three . A triptych of acrylic paintings Here, as promised , is the final painting .

A turquoise blue kite , soaring free into a glorious,  golden sky .This is the third canvas in the triptych of acrylic paintings
Free Spirit

I entered these three large canvases as a proposal for a commission at a local stately home, to be displayed in the private chapel , inside the big house. Unfortunately, I was not successful on this occasion , but I was really inspired by the idea and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of entering.

Part One of the Triptych of Acrylic Paintings

I was reflecting on the state of our modern world , right at the beginning of the lockdown . So I thought about the idyllic world mankind lived in , before industrialisation . And I painted this intuitive abstract to show an unspoiled planet , visualized as a sort of tropical paradise. For more details and close-ups of this painting , see here

Swirling shapes in pink green and yellow - a lush jungle paradise. Part one of the triptych of acrylic paintings.
Paradise

The next chapter in the story also came easily to me .I must have been feeling quite pessimistic and I portrayed a burnt-out , desolate world with a huge , red sun Perhaps there are hints of global warming here ?

Hell on Earth

I suppose I must have been thinking about the excessive consumption and the way modern civilisation exhausts the Earth’s resources. I showed this painting in a virtual exhibition on Instagram – see @rotherhamroar . It’s our Washing Line exhibition !

For the final part of this triptych of acrylic paintings, I thought about how the paintings were to be displayed in a church .This is a place where people could sit in quiet contemplation , perhaps hoping for a peaceful resolution of their troubles . So I tried to portray this as a spirit soaring free , away from all difficulties . I think that I also used the motif of the kite to symbolise that feeling of wanting to escape from the ‘ virus ‘ problem. Obviously, this is a feeling that a lot of us have experienced lately . But I painted it instinctively and it must have come from my subconscious.

A turquoise blue kite soaring free into the  glorious golden sky
Free Spirit

I hope that you enjoyed looking at my Isolation Art. There are actually two more large canvases that do take the story forward , when I think about it . But that can be saved for another day .

Paradise – Acrylic Abstract Painting

An Intuitive Abstract Composition in Pink and Green

A colourful acrylic abstract, mainly pinks and greens , suggesting  a jungle or a paradise garden.
Paradise – an abstract composition by Margaret Hall

This is the first painting in a set of three that I mentioned a couple of posts ago .And I called this one ‘Paradise ‘ . I think I must have imagined a tropical scene or a scene in a jungle . The colours I was drawn to – luscious pinks and vibrant greens – definitely fitted into this theme . I tried really hard not to paint anything too figurative and realistic . But when I stood back from my easel, I saw suggestions of a bird , an insect , perhaps an animal, flowers and leaves . So I realized that I was going to make this this acrylic abstract composition semi-abstracted not purely abstract . But that’s ok. To be honest , I often find that my paintings decide what they want to be . And , sometimes without a lot of input from me ! I even turned this one upside down several times to paint it and the motifs still appeared ! I wonder if you can see any signs of life in this jungle ( as well as the luxuriant foliage , that is ) ?

Paradise – Birds , Flowers and an Insect ? – details from my acrylic abstract

a close up of shapes like birds and flowers .
A Bird ?
A shape in stripes of yellow and black suggesting an insect in the paradise garden .
An Insect ?

I believe that the term ‘ paradise ‘ has its origins in a word which meant ‘garden’ , a place with lush growth and plenty of water , a place where you could rest and gaze upon a beautiful scene . When I painted this , I was thinking about the story I was telling in a series of three canvases for a commission proposal : this is the first one ‘Paradise ‘. And the second one ‘ Hell on Earth ‘ was shown in a previous post in May here and it carries the story forward .. All will become clearer soon when I reveal the third part !

Paradise