"Dappled Road," 2024, Original Artwork by Brian Balthazar

"Dappled Road" conveys two things I love in life in this moment: one, enjoying the beauty of life in this very moment, while I look at the road ahead, full of promise and color and new experiences. The piece reflects my desire to appreciate the beauty of the current space I’m in, while still keeping an eye of what’s to come. (A life of mindfulness can still have goals!) Secondly, as I continue this journey as a painter, I am always experimenting with techniques and approaches to paint and color. I’ve always been a great admirer of paint-by-number art… frankly, I enjoy looking at them more than I do painting them, but I really love the style of and approach to a painting that is unique sections of color with very little blending. With that in mind, I applied small blockings and groupings of color to create a similar effect. I discovered that I enjoy applying Paint blocking, but also appreciate a beautiful “blending moment.” Using purples and pinks along the dirt road to create contrast between the sunlight and the tree shadows is another thing I love about the piece. The artists I love the most apply colors I never had imagined before, and I’m pushing myself to play with that more and more.   "Dappled Road," acrylic on canvas Size - 20" x 20" by 1 and 1/2 inch-deep canvas frame The canvas is stretched onto a wood frame, but the canvas itself is not in a decorative frame