First Light is an original oil on panel conceived and painted by artist
Glenn Beasley. The scene depicts a young girl’s first curious attempt at
reading the family bible by candlelight. While the work was inspired by the chiaroscuro
of many of the old masters such as Caravaggio, Georges De La Tour and Joseph
Wright of Derby, Glenn points out that this scene can be of any time period you
wish it to be. “It could just as easily be during a power outage possibly in
winter, and the batteries have finally run down on all the modern distractions
children are so accustomed to. So she turns to this book out of curiosity to
see why everyone talks about it so much.” Glenn’s first inspiration to do this piece
came during a visit to the Arkansas Arts Center’s Kenwood Exhibit in the fall
of 2013. “I was viewing all the
wonderful works including the Rembrandt, Hals and others when a piece caught my
eye from across the room and literally dragged me into the scene. It was “Two
Girls Decorating a Kitten” by Joseph Wright of Derby. The dramatic contrasts of
the light and darks when viewed from a distance made the other works seem to
recede. I will never forget that. I have always wanted to do a candlelit scene
and knew that day I had to attempt one as soon as I could finish the other
projects that were pressing.”
First Light is currently on display at the Cantrell Gallery in Little Rock at 8206 Cantrell Rd through the month of February courtesy of the Arkansas League of Artists of which Glenn is a member.
