The sun shines back 

"The sun shines back" was painted by Joshua LaRock, using oil on canvas. Oil painting is a tradition reaching back centuries, requiring highly refined materials and techniques. The smooth, almost photographic surface finish would have required many layers of thin paint, each carefully blended. Look closely, and you can see where LaRock has built up subtle textures, especially in the landscape. This wasn't just about rendering the scene accurately. It was about using the materiality of paint to create an atmospheric and evocative effect. The intense labor that goes into a painting like this is something we might easily overlook. Yet it's crucial to understanding the work, since skill, time, and effort are all ingredients in the final result. By appreciating the process and material involved, we can move beyond thinking of art as just a visual experience, recognizing the craft that enables its creation.