Painting the Picture...Picture the Painting
We as artists often wonder what our painting will look like when we start to apply paint on canvas. We are first struck emotionally by what we see...for whatever reason. It makes us want to capture and communicate the image. We are driven to make that happen...or at least, as artists, we should.
Here are a few ways to help improve that very first moment of artistic impressions. For many of you, you've heard it all before. But we are now over 1,000 subscribers to this newsletter. So let's share these secrets with one another.
The Thumbnail Sketch
That's the first step. In a small sketch book, make a little sketch of what you are going to paint. It's a thumbnail... maybe 2" X 4" ...kind of a big thumbnail if you ask me...but the images inside that little box, which should be the same proportionate size of the canvas you are painting on, will either make or break the painting. It may be hard to believe but the first 30 seconds of a painting are ruined due to essential compositional elements not first recognized and included in the very first brushstrokes on canvas.
Composition
I can write for hours on this subject. If I did, however, there would be a mass number of "delete" keys being pushed on computers. Not many people like to pay attention to compositional elements. Little do they realize that it is the very starting point for their story...which is being depicted on canvas. When doing your thumbnail sketch, make sure it has the landscape in three unequal values of three unequal shapes.
Turn the thumbnail sketch upside down and vertical. Does the design of the three uneven shapes hold your interest? If the design works, most likely the painting will work. Design of the work is the secret. No design... no strong, engaging work of art.
As mentioned so many times before in all our classes and workshops, values are one of the many keys to success in painting. Visualization is another first step. Look at the landscape and then visualize how the painting will look on your canvas. It may take a little practice. If you find that visualization is a bit difficult on a large canvas, try visualizing the painting on a smaller one. This will help you condense everything in your mind's eye. Your visualization efforts should approach the elements of the thumbnail sketch you started with. Remember that when visualizing the work of art that you are about to create, think of the painting in terms of your own style of work. Or perhaps you may want to venture off and explore other media or methods like the palette knife or leave the knife and pick up the brush.
A Final Test
When you finish your painting, take a picture with a digital camera. Change that wonderful color picture into a black and white photo either in the camera or most likely on the computer. Compare the black and white photo with the black and white thumbnail sketch. This will tell you if you correctly recorded the values in the painting.
We all get in front of the canvas and we are all eager to get started. Make sure you take these steps outlined above. Stronger paintings will emerge. It will make your day in the field a happy and memorable experience.
ANOTHER ARTICLE:
In 2006, I spent five days at the Art Student's League in New York City. What an experience...just getting there ! Rising at pre-dawn hours, even my dog "Arney" was shocked I was up that early. Traffic was at times unbearable and then again at times easy to navigate. The class with Peter Cox, the much heralded portraitist, was incredible ! I never worked so hard. Now I know how you all feel when I tell you to "squint" at the subject. As you all know, squinting actually filters out the light allowing only the most important aspects of the form you are looking at to truly emerge.
