First Light (Orange and Cobalt) (2025) is an abstract oil painting on linen by Dutch artist Donald Schenkel, measuring 145 × 135 cm and presented in a wooden frame. Cobalt blue gradually transitions through pale, luminous tones into warm orange, suggesting the light of daybreak without depicting a recognisable landscape.
The work belongs to the series that forms the foundation of Schenkel’s practice, exploring blue as the colour of distance and the immaterial. Inspired in part by Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Schenkel approaches colour as a space for contemplation. Developed through more than a decade of experimentation with oil paint, his subtle gradients invite sustained looking, revealing nuances in colour and the texture of the linen.