“One Way” is my very first architectural painting – it is also my most complex painting so far. When I first began painting it, I couldn’t get over the fact that this ornate door belonged to a church. The overall feel was very oppressive. But as I started the details I saw this image in a different light.
Life is like a one-way street. You can only go forward and along the road there will be many side roads and doors beckoning to you. If you saw this door on your journey, would you go in? The door could symbolize any number of things, such as opportunity, accomplishment, love, and so on. There will be many doors on the one-way street of life but few would be as ornate as this. It would be up to you to decide whether you should risk opening it and taking the things that await you.
If you’d rather not be philosophical about this painting, it is a wonderful representation of old architecture! A friend told me last year to do a painting where everything was in focus – I’m not very fond of painting backgrounds if you haven’t noticed. I had little choice in this painting and it became the challenge of a lifetime! I loved making it look as real as it does, but I didn’t feel much of a connection with it. I’ll stick to animals and nature. This will be my only architectural piece unless a commission comes up. Still, it was fun trying to get the lines straight and the details ironed out! It’s not perfect, but it’s still good and there’s only one way to go from here.

“One Way” 16x20” acrylic on canvas. © Cara Bevan 2009

Time: 61 hours, 35 minutes

See how this artwork was created!

Basic colors:
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Details:
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