Canopic Jars (Dust them off and try again)

This was a lonely-looking canopic jar in the original photo. In my first version, I ended up with a pretty dark painting-- cold light, warm shadow. I wasn't thrilled with the result, mostly because I was distracted by a crying toddler while I painted. Even though she was upstairs in another room, I had trouble tuning her out, and kept rushing my work so I could stop her crying (as moms are prone to do).

I went back and noodled it a little, but I wasn't totally satisfied.

So, I decided to try it from a different approach. I know that many people tend to imagine everything in Ancient Egypt as cold, dark, and dusty, since that's how the things they left behind look today (you would too, if you'd been sitting in a tomb for thousands of years). However, they lived in the constant bright light of the desert sun, and must have used bright colors in their creations too. I decided to make the brighter version to liven it up a little, and boy did it ever!


I was much happier with the second piece, so it does pay to go back and start over if you're dissatisfied with the end result of a painting. I may tackle this subject again in other ways, to see if I can improve it even more with the next try...

"Canopic"
Email nicolehilsabeck@yahoo.com if interested in purchasing original