This painting is called "Dark Romance" for the following reason:
Technically white is not a color, but, unless I mix white paint with colored paint, I use white paint in the same manner and with the same purpose as colored paint and will therefore refer to "the color white".
The last color I use to finish a painting usually determines much of the overall mood of the painting. Therefore, in the case of Marked Woman, I stopped working on the painting after I had been using the color white. The theme of Marked Woman is social stigma and the guilt-innocence dualism. Because the guilt part is rather obvious, to say the least, the innocence part emerged during a painting session in which I used the color white. I thought the contrast in opposite themes brought about a thematic balance, an effect I hadn't achieved before. I stopped working on the painting, even though the compositional balance still left something to be desired.
I also observed another effect. While the color white is associated with innocence and purity, I noticed it also highlighted the darker thematic properties of the painting, which I value, because I think that my art should always be rooted in reality: light besides darkness, beauty besides ugliness, etc..
Of course the color black is also dark in mood, but white can achieve a dark effect without being intimidating.
I think you know what I'm getting at: In Dark Romance the last color I used was white and it gave the painting something spooky. In combination with the painting's romantic quality, I thought it's title was justified.
This painting is called "Dark Romance" for the following reason:
