Oil on canvas painting of winter sunset with a vibrant gold and violet sky in Provence called 'On Looking West' by John O'Grady
On Looking West, ©John O’Grady
19.8″ x 19.8″ x 1.75″, oil on deep edge canvas, ready to hang.
SOLD

This landscape painting shows a winter sunset I saw in Clansayes, a small village in Drôme Provençale.

The sky started to fill with burning gold and deep purple.

The gold looked like paint applied diagonally with a broad sweep across the violet clouds. The distant powder blue hills played off against the gold to create a gentle pulse.

Colour rose in a crescendo and gradually faded.

This painting seeks to convey the magic of that fleeting moment.

For fans of sunsets and Emily Dickinson, here is a wonderful poem:

The Sea of Sunset

This is the land the sunset washes,
These are the banks of the Yellow Sea;
Where it rose, or whither it rushes,
These are the western mystery!

Night after night her purple traffic
Strews the landing with opal bales;
Merchantmen poise upon horizons,
Dip, and vanish with fairy sails.

Have you ever stopped in your tracks to take in a sublime sunset?

Please let me know what you think about the painting.