Contemporary Abstract Expressionism I Reflections at Sundown

This is a vivid, dramatic sunset over water, with more colour and contrast than most of your seascapes. A dark band of plum, burgundy, and near-black stretches across the middle as a shoreline or headland, with a blaze of orange, gold, and red along it as if the sun were setting just behind. The sky is full of character. Soft aqua and mint green form the background, with big billowing white clouds on the left and right. At the top centre, a heavy dark cloud of navy and violet hangs over the scene, flecked with red and orange where the sunset lights it from below. Streaks of gold and coral run across the middle of the sky, leading toward a bright band of white just above the horizon. Below the shoreline, the water reflects everything: orange and red spill down in broken patches, then fade into lilac, aqua, and white in the lower half. Purple shadows drift across the left side, and white highlights scatter across the surface like light on ripples. The paint is blended softly in the sky and water, while the sunset colours and highlights are laid on thickly with a knife, so they stand out from the surface. It reads as a fiery sunset over a lake or the sea, with a storm cloud passing overhead and the light reflected on calm water.