The drama of “Love, Light, and Shadow” lies in its strong composition with interacting negative shapes and looming purple and yellow shadow. The charcoal drawing, while realistic, echoes that drama with intense lights and darks. Repeated triangle shapes help the design pull together as a unified whole. Among those triangles are the highlight on her cheek, the outline of his shoulders combined with her neckline, and the contour of his shoulders and shirt seam traced down through the edges of her torso. The free application of color provides even more contrast to the rendering with aggressive scribbles and splashy drips.

 

The arrangement of their bodies highlights their oneness and he is in a position to love and protect her. The shadow is perhaps a question about how we live our married lives and who we are. We are a mixture of light and darkness. Sometimes we cause the shadows, sometimes we protect one another from them.