Less is More

The idea of less being more fits well into the theory of painting. The power, beauty, and strength of statement can be greater when the picture is stated simply and not overdone. Holding back is important in painting. Here's an anology. A legal document drawn up by laywers says everything there is to say about a subject in precise detail but most often will not convey much in the way of meaning to most people. The same is true of painting. Put in every detail and you'll loose the importance of the big statment...the very thing that attracted you to the subject in the first place only to get caught up in the smaller but less important details.

Photography and Painting

Photography is like stabbing with a knife but painting is like meditation. I don't remember where I heard that but it struck a chord. I have been involved with cameras and photography all my life and I realize what it takes to make a good photograph but it doesn't compare with having to carefully work every inch of a painting with consideration on every brush stroke.

Picture taking vs painting pictures

Photography is liking stabbing with a knife whereas painting is like meditation. I'm not sure who said that but it sure struck a chord with me.

Two elements of painting

There are two elements involved in making a painting. Observation and interpretation. Artists must be able to see clearly and remove all preconceived ideas as to what objects look like. For instance, the idea that tree trunks are brown must be put aside and the study of their real colors which are many and varied must be more closely. Then the process of interpretation comes into play. It is what makes the painter different from the casual photographer. The painter gets to choose what he or she wants to focus on in a way a photographer can not. The painter can achieve the essence of the subject by not only concentrating on that part of the painting but also by leaving other details out or leaving them to the imagination. Interpretation can breathe life into a painting and make it personal.

Art or not?

If you ever wonder why certain paintings or sculptures are considered art, be aware the context the piece is viewed in puts a lot of weight on whether it is consider art. Just because a museum has a show of aluminum lawn chairs from WalMart in an impressive white room with wood floor and track lighting doesn't make them art. Much of what museums display is nothing more than art polution.

Spray Gesso

If you paint on Masonite and love a smooth painting surface, Krylon makes a spray Gesso. I bought a can to try it out and it works great. It's expensive but convenient and puts down a great surface on which to paint especially for smaller paintings.

Elements to a sucessful painting

A good painting has two elements that make it interesting and powerful.

1. The subject must be deeply felt by the artist. That doesn't mean that you have to love barns in order to make a great painting of a barn. It means the artist must be moved by some element that is the focus. It could be the way the light falls across the old boards for example. If the artist doesn't feel it, the viewer certainly won't either.

2. The subject has to be stated simply. Again, that doesn't mean there can't be lots of detail in a painting. It means the subject itself must be clearly stated. There should be no competition in the painting that detracts from the intended purpose. No unnecessary frills. Frills will not help a painting where there is no primary focus to begin with.

Feeling the subject

More often than not, a subject that reaches me most deeply is very simple. Seeing the commonplace and having profound and deep heartfelt feelings about it is what keeps artists alive. When the artist feels it, then the viewer can also. If the artist lacks feelings about a subject, then certainly the viewing public won't feel anything of value either.

If you don't feel the subject, don't paint it or you'll be wasting your efforts.

(click image to view larger)

Painting is Language

Painting is a language no less than any written language. To think that one can through inspiration and talent can create something of worth is to think that one can write a novel without knowing the language or how to spell. I think the reason is that so many mediocre paintings exist they have become the norm. People hardly know good art from bad.
In order to create a painting with meaning you must the fundementals that make up the basic language and those things are drawing, perspective, color, composition, etc. and that takes a long and dedicated effort.
No one thinks a person could possibly play wonderful music on the violin without first knowing the scales. Painting is one of those hard earned skills that many think can just be done with talent alone. It cannot.

Painting Quickly

I find it very hard to understand why art customers are so interested in asking how long it took to finish a painting. I paint quite quickly but it seems to be a negative if they know how "seemingly" easily they were completed. If a fine guitarist plays with great speed, people applaud their agility. Why is it so different with an artist if the results of the painting are of quality?

Looking but not seeing

I'm not a Bible scholar, (my wife and I are Baha'i's) but there is a verse that says something like, "you hear but do not understand, you look but do not see." It got me thinking about how that relates to painting. We all know how difficult it is at times to understand driving directions, how to accomplish some task in a new computer program and so on. We accept that fact quite readily. However, we have been brought up to think that "seeing is believing" but it is not the case at all. Seeing a landscape is a very tricky situation and for an artist to paint a good landscape, he or she must be able to see in ways that others do not. The artist must have a keen ability to detect subtle changes in color, form, values, and edges and put them all together selectively to convey the essence of the subject. No easy task and one that takes years of constant attention.

Eyes versus photographs

I rely on photographs for reference while in my studio painting but I often have to remind myself what the camera sees and what the eye sees in the outdoors are very different. The camera averages the exposure of a landscape and in so doing, the sky may be washed out in order to keep the trees from looking too dark. Another problem with photos is that it looks at the entire picture at once. The eye look and focus on small areas and will adjust itself to see into that area. For instance, I might look at the shadow under a tree and my eye will dialate to see the detail there. A photograph won't do that because it sees and exposes for the entire scene. Our eyes move around and quickly expose themselves to small areas giving us a clearer picture and more information that a photograph can produce.
One photographic solution is to shoot multiple exposures of the same scene or use photoshop to create several different exposures of the same photo in order to see more clearly into those areas which are too dark or too light. That of course will also leave some parts of the photo overexposed and others underexposed leaving the artist to put it all back together with it's appropriate real life values.

Mood versus detail

The mood of a painting is more important and expresses the essence of the subject far more than the factual details.

Harmony was easily achieved because by having just these few colors, every color that was mixed simply couldn't go far off track.

This landscape was also painted by just using three colors. Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, and Indian Yellow.

(click on painting to enlarge)

Using only three colors

This painting was created using just three colors. Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, and Indian Yellow (and of course white) These are transparent colors. Colors such as cerulean blue, cadium yellow, or cadium red are opaque colors and will not give me the deep dark colors like the transparent colors will. It's amazing how much variation can be accomplished with the use of such a limited palette. Try it sometime. The other advantage is by using just those three colors, your painting will always be harmonious.

(click on painting to enlarge)

A Refuge

A friend and I were talking about the value of painting and sometimes I question that value but he said, for him painting can be a refuge. I never thought of it that way before, a refuge from what troubles you and from the unsolvable problems of the world and community. I liked this idea as it shifts the purpose of painting from that of producing a result to one of inner peace.

Art Teachers

When you are looking for a good teacher, remember that good artists don't always make good teachers and I have seen the opposite as well where very good art teachers are very poor painters.

New type of brush

A friend loaned me a set of these new brushes called Aqualon Wisps to try. They are suppose to be good for painting grass, beards, etc. Well, an old worn brush or the standard fan brush will do just as well, maybe better.

Interior Decorators

Last evening I was attending an event at a very exclusive condominium. The furniture and carpet was shades of pinks and purples. On the wall was some of the worst artwork I have ever laid my eyes on. But guess what! It perfectly matched the colors in the furniture and carpet. Personally in all the decades I have been painting, I have never once dealt with an interior decorator interested in actual artwork. I'm not offended by this when they visit my studio with a client but I'm aware of their focus which was so evident last night.
What does offend me is after seeing nothing more in a painting than a match to their color swatches, they reduce 40 years of intensive study to create a painting with substance by further expecting the artist to hand them a 50% discount. Artists and their art are nothing more than a commodity to decorators. I hope someday one of them will prove me wrong.

Quick exposure

Most digital cameras today auto focus and auto expose when the shutter button is pushed down slightly just before the picture is snapped. This often leaves you with a photograph that is either too light or too dark. I make a habit of pushing the button down slightly and giving the picture a quick look while still aimed at the subject. If the picture seems too light, I release the button, point the camera into an even brighter area where there is more sun and again push the shutter partway down. Then I swing camera back to where it was originally and the resulting photo will be darker.
Conversely, if the photo seems too dark, swing the camera into an area that is even darker, press the shutter slightly to expose for that darker area and while still holding down the shutter slightly in order to preserve that exposure, swing the camera back into position and your picture you want will be lighter.

More about Seeing

"A landscape has got to mean a great deal to anyone before it can be painted in any worth-while way. It is harder to see a landscape than to paint it. This is true because there are lots of clever people who can paint anything, but lacking the seeing power, paint nothing worthwhile."
Robert Henri - Ashcan school