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| Chesterman Beach reference photo |
Received some interesting questions on this blog following
my Opus demo on Saturday. Instead of replying directly to one comment/questions I decided to share the answer on the blog so others that were present could share in the answer.
Comment/question received
Brian, your
Saturday workshop was informative and inspiring. A pleasure to attend. At the
end of the workshop you expressed that you weren't particularly happy with the
final outcome - (which most of us thought was pretty good). Earlier in your
presentation you touched on how you would go about evaluating the success of a
piece - by checking against your personal "checklist". I meant to ask
you to explain a little about why you were not pleased with the piece. Can you
elaborate a bit on what you thought was the problem with the piece? It would be
most helpful to understand your view.
Thanks again for the very worthwhile and
enjoyable workshop.
Answer
A short and simplistic answer is that demos have a time limit -
and paintings don't.
The painting from this demo was developed to the stage where
most paintings enter a difficult ( I used a different word in the demo) stage.
If stopped at this point the painting has not reached its potential. And that
was my point – we ended at an unfinished stage. Its not that I was unhappy with
it (knowing that it could be carried towards an acceptable finish) – but I was unhappy having to
leave it at that stage for the demo and those beginner painters thinking that was it - finished.
So the question was - what would I do with it now to take it to a finish. I wish I had taken a photo so that I could
discuss this painting specifically. I don't, so the answer has to be general in
nature.
To progress with a painting you need some idea of where you want to
take it - or at least what the possibilities are. I am a “what if “ painter with acrylics – I tend to make changes to
see if I am happy and change again if not. I know from experience that I can go back and forth and find my way out.
I had a problem assessing
the painting at the Demo. To evaluate a
painting I need to get back about 10 ft.
Particularly recently, when I developed problems in one eye, I have had trouble evaluating up close. So that is the
first step for me. Getting back from it to consider “the big picture”. I normally stand when painting and am constantly walking back to evaluate.
Then I start to go through
my self-critique check list which I pretty much have in my head now. I don’t want to go through it all on the blog– but I
encourage others to organize their thoughts for reviewing their work.
It starts simply – why did I paint this piece? What is it about –
ie the center of interest. Have I placed
it correctly and guided the viewer towards it. In this case it was the west coast
tree. Did I do all I could to make it strong? Did it scream – west coast? The tree at that point needed to be stronger.
Too cut up with sky holes, could have leaned more ( exaggerate reality for
emphasis), etc. etc
The lead-in to the tree is done using whats available - the rocks, the sand, the
shadows on the sand and I could have added some water to direct the eye – all tools
to use that are part of that environment. Could also have put a strong west coast
cloud above that would stop the eye from leaving the top of the painting and even
point to the tree.
I could go on and on but let’s
summarize the possibilities.
Big questions to ask:
•
Does
one colour dominate?
•
Does one value dominate?
•
Does
one of the large shapes dominate?
•
Is
the centre of interest well located – off centre
•
Is there
an entry point?
•
Are
all exits blocked?
etc
Tools to work with :
•
Colour
contrasts – compliments, temperature
•
Value
contrasts
•
Shape
contrasts
•
Edge
control
•
Details
– small marks
•
Pointing/leading
lines
•
Effective
brushwork
etc
But remember, its not about making
it correct ( copy the photo) but about making it interesting and unique.
In
this case the subject is very simple with
simple shapes - a tree, some bushes,
rocks, sand, shadows on sand, sky. You can use them as needed to make an
interesting statement – of a west coast tree.
Lots of good reference books on
composition. I strongly encourage reading and reading – different authors take
a different approach and considering them all is probably best and the best way
to drive the concepts home.
Long winded for a blog – hope it helps a bit.
