Quickie

I have such a pull toward refining whatever I work on that I am always in danger of making what I paint look like a photograph. And with apologies to Chuck Close, if I want it to look like a photograph I will just grab my camera and take a photograph.

So, a lot of my artistic life has been a conscious effort to loosen up and not be so enslaved by the exact image before me. But not being tied to the image before me does not mean I am excused from all the elements that create a good painting. I still must balance color, value, shape, texture, rhythm, repetition, space, etc, etc.

So here's my assignment to myself: Complete a small painting in 1 hour, working alla prima, and using twice as much paint as I usually do. I am so stingy with my paint (it's SO expensive) and this, by all accounts, can cramp your style and slow you down.

And here's the result.

It is rough and unrefined, but I am happy with it, nonetheless. It is only 8" x 10" and I used a #6 flat brush (about 1/2 inch wide) most of the time to keep me from getting detailed too fast.
Pushing the paint across the canvas surface created actual texture (as opposed to visual texture) and made for a rich surface.
I may use this study for a larger, more refined painting later on.
Or maybe not.... maybe I'll let it stand on its own.



*Tip - squeeze out twice as much paint onto your palette as you think you will need. That way you won't skimp on pigment and you also won't waste time having to stop to squeeze out additional paint and disrupt your painting rhythm.

Painting Negative Space

Some painters (especially beginners) design their artworks thinking only of the objects they are portraying, but there is another element that must be considered. And that is the painting's negative space. Those spaces between the objects being painted are every bit as important as the objects themselves. Because these negative areas have boundaries, they also function as shapes in the total pictorial structure.

A good painting must function as a whole, with every shape, positive and negative, contributing to the total picture. 

I love "painting negatively" and here's a little study that is 90% negative shapes:

With a big wet brush, I scrubbed in a mixture of ultramarine blue, cad red, yellow ochre, and sap green. There are basically three different values, depending on the amount of thinner I mixed with the pigment.

A few more swipes with the brush to give a texture like evergreens and I start to paint negatively. White is the only other color I add to those I have used and with the same big brush (the canvas is only 9" x 12" so a #6 Flat is large in comparison) I begin to pick out some lighter areas in between the tree trunks. This also establishes the edge of the hill in the background.

Adding more white (but still far from pure white) I continue to break up the areas of color and refine shapes by painting around those shapes. The snow on the ground emerges at this stage.

Deep Forest Snow    9" x 12"

Final details are added with the lightest colors. No pure white was used, though, and the lightest areas have a little cad yellow added to warm it up. The only positive shapes added after the initial lay in of dark color are a few branches and twigs added to suggest a tangled forest. All other shapes I painted are negative shapes.

This is a great exercise to open up your eyes so that you see more when you look at a scene. Don't just look at the tree. Look at the spaces around the tree, the shapes between the twigs, the light shining between the leaves. Try it, it works!

Creating "Space"

Across the Field   6" x 8"

Space can be defined as "the interval or measurable distance between pre-established points". One of my desires is to create a feeling of three dimensional space within the picture frame (decorative space is for another time). I want the surface of the canvas to be where space starts, and then spreads out.

One way to give the illusion of space is by use of linear perspective, but because one of my favorite subjects is landscape, my main way of creating space is by use of aerial perspective. Aerial perspective can be created by position on the picture plane, overlapping, diminishing detail, and color changes.

I did the little painting above the other day and used all those methods to create a feeling of space. Objects lower on the picture plane appear closer (position). Objects which overlap appear closer (the trees along the wall overlap the field and the trees behind). Objects further away are softer, with less detail. 

But the area where I took the most artistic liberties is in the area of color changes. The scene was actually green, green, and more green! Painting it the way I saw it would have created a flat, boring picture, so I played with the color. Some general "rules" are: warm colors advance, cool colors recede....intense colors advance, grayed colors recede....light colors advance, dark colors recede.  Can you see how I used these ideas? And my green summer landscape became an autumn landscape (I love artistic license). Much more interesting.

Always bear in mind, though, that these "rules" may be broken as you gain skill and experience. Learn the rules first, then how to break them!

Keeping Me Humble....

Well, they don't always turn out to be masterpieces.
I knew this rule, I just hoped it didn't apply to me!

I used to struggle and keep going over and over a faltering painting trying to get it right, but have found that this only results (for me) in a stilted, belabored artwork. Not fresh or clean. One that I am never happy with. One that sits in the back of my mind haunting me.

I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I laid down a strong bright wash to paint on. Yellow is a color I don't use often (I lean toward ochres and oranges rather than yellow) so I decided to experiment.

All I could say when I saw this was, "My eyes!! My eyes!!"

After a few washes of color to block in the shapes, the yellow was still glaring and I was getting a headache.

Since I was having a hard time stepping up to the easel - the word "dread" comes to mind - I decided to be bold and wipe this image from the canvas, and hopefully, my mind.

I took a rag, dipped it in mineral spirits, and wiped the whole surface.

Then made a new sketch:

The horizon line is a tad lower and the whole thing feels better.......maybe that is just because the piercing yellow is gone.

I haven't given up on the idea of "yellow" so I decided to make the sky a yellow rather than the standard blue.

Add more color variations, but try to stay in the value range needed to convey space and shape.


Value: the lightness or darkness of a hue.

Space: Area within the paintings edges, specifically including depth...3D space.

Shape: created by use of color, value, edges.

Delaware Water Gap  11" x 14"

More color variations pushing the background further back and adding detail to the foreground.


This is a trail up in the Delaware Water Gap. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, though it is still a little "fussy".
( I'm still trying to loosen up.)








So, I have decided that after making a valiant effort and doing my best,  if the painting is still heading in a wrong direction I will simply discard it (or wipe away the image) and start fresh.
Nothing is wasted because I probably learned something...even if it is only what doesn't work... and more important is that I love to paint, so I enjoyed doing it. That is not a waste.

Celebrate Color

I believe that color (or its absence) is probably the most exciting and influential element in artworks. Though it is second to design in its importance, it exerts an immediate and spontaneous influence on us as we look at a work on art.

Basic Color Wheel

And, I have always loved the color wheel, in all its many manifestations. But, I hardly ever use it! From the time I first began to paint I have always used color instinctively, knowing what colors to mix to get what I needed. Studying color theory when I reached college only served to reinforce what I was already doing, and explained why what I was doing worked.

But if color doesn't come easy for you, you can learn how color works and how to utilize that knowledge.

Here's a good place to go, if you want to learn more about color.

Color possesses four qualities :

Hue - what we usually just call "color"

Value - the lightness (a tint) or darkness (a shade) of a color.

Intensity or saturation - emerald is more intense than olive, but they are both green

Temperature - there are warm reds (cadmium red) and cool reds (alizarine crimson), etc. This is true for all colors. In the watercolor below, can you see warm blues and cool blues?

Honey Jars in GA - Dottie Hoeschen

In a future post I will talk more about colors that I use and why......

Inertia

How do you overcome the inertia that seems to grip so many artists when faced with a blank canvas?

For me it can even start before I drag out my tools. I want to get to work, but my brain is out of gear. How to slip it back into the groove?

One of the easiest ways for me is to delve into my treasure trove of books and begin to flip through. To a visual artist the photos are like a feast!
The colors and compositions will stimulate those creative juices and you will begin to get ideas.
But, beware! I am NOT talking about copying or imitating the works you are studying. Imitation may be a sincere form of flattery, but it also can stunt your growth (and can be illegal to boot!).
Favorite works are jumping off points for your own artwork. Some small part of a painting may send your creativity off into a whole new direction.
I gravitate toward works that display the same artistic concerns that I have and share many of the same characteristics.


Some artworks from my gazzillion books that get me goin'!

                                                                            

Components of Art: Form - the organization (design) of all elements which make up a work of art. Elements of form are line, shapes, values, textures, and colors.The one that grabs me fastest is color.

Polymer possibilities

Love the look of old!

Artifact Pendant

Components of Art: Subject Matter - not always deep and symbolic. Sometimes a tree is just a tree. Especially with me.