One doorway is lit, and that is where your eye goes first.
A hillside village at the end of the day. Deep blue dusk over grey stone, warm wood, green ivy going dark. And down among the houses, a single door standing open with amber light spilling out of it, like somebody inside just put the lamp on the table.
Now look at the roofline
Take the rooftops as a whole. The slopes, the gables, the gaps of sky between them. There is a fox lying down in there, nose tucked, ears back, and it is not painted on anything – it is only the shape the roofs and shadows happen to make. Once you see it you cannot unsee it, and that is the whole pleasure of it.
Carmen Delacroix builds the quiet village first and hides the second picture last. She glazes dark to light so the lamp seems to come from inside the paint rather than off the surface, which is why the fox sits in shadow and takes a minute to arrive. One critic put it well: “The glowing amber light invites you into a world where each shadow holds a secret.”
What happens in your house
The kids will find the fox before you do. Then they will drag every visitor over to point at it, and you will watch grown adults squint at your wall for a full thirty seconds.
Getting it up there
Canvas, an inch and a quarter deep, stretched on solid wood and ready to hang out of the box – one nail, no framer, no surprise bill. The image wraps the edges, so it looks finished from the side too. Matte, so a lamp or a window opposite gives you the village back instead of a glare. Made to order, so nobody down the street has this one.
Portrait. Most people take the 16×20 (41 x 51 cm) at $149. The 12×16 (30 x 41 cm) is $129 for a narrower spot, the 18×24 (46 x 61 cm) is $229 if the wall is wide. High quality print of a digital artwork, free shipping in the continental US, up to ten business days to make plus delivery.
One honest thing
It is a dark picture. Nearly all indigo, with the gold held in one small place. If you want something bright and airy over the sofa, this is not it. If you like a room that gets deeper at night, take it home – or look through the rest of Carmen’s work first, and follow her so you see the next hidden one before anyone else does.
