Bride at dawn

Bride at Dawn is an 11×14″ oil painting created during what I call the “off-season”—that time of year when winter wraps the Driftless in grey and my brush turns inward. During these colder months, my landscapes give way to interiors and figures. This piece is one of the results.

The subject is a bride, standing quietly at daybreak. There’s no crowd, no ceremony—just a moment of personal reflection before whatever comes next. The light is soft, almost unsure of itself, pushing through the morning like a memory. She’s neither ecstatic nor afraid. Just present.

What drew me to this scene was the hush of it—the subtle suggestion of ritual, of transformation, of time briefly pausing. Her posture is still, but there’s energy in the fabric, in the warmth of the palette, in the slight tilt of her head.

This isn’t a portrait of someone I know. It’s not really about marriage either. It’s about the private spaces we hold before stepping into something new. The moments we rarely talk about. The ones that live between expectation and reality.

Stylistically, it stays close to the post-impressionist roots I often draw from. Soft edges, confident color, and brushwork that’s more emotional than precise. Warm light, gentle shadows, and an emphasis on feeling over detail.