| NOTES
on the
Illusion of Depth:
 |
| "First Light"
acrylic painting |
"First Light"acrylic
 |
| Foot
of Columbia |
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| "Foot
of Columbia" 48" x 54" acrylic on canvas |
|
Acrylic
paint adds a new dimension to our landscape palette. as an additional
tool, it can keep the under painting wet looking, freezing the current
state and preventing future solubility. It can provide a fixed underpainting
state for other
| As
this is our seventh session,
I will give you something else I have recently discovered. I
have spoken of the benefits of making a color chart for your
watercolors. The same is needed for your acrylic colors and
special media and varnishes. The effect of gloss and matte of
glazing flow liquids and stiff gels must be understood and remembered.
Is there a major difference in the appearance of acrylic paint
spread with a brush as compared to a painting knife? Keeping
up your "hand" in any medium, means using it frequently
enough to remember technical differences and how it will look
when dry. We develop a preference for color It lives in shadow
or in light. Likewise a philosophy of transparency and surface
world predetermine what is deep or shallow, and what is shiny,
satin or flat looking. Develop a philosophy, be consistent to
your own rules and keep to the plan. Once again,give yourself
a preview or test panel to work with that matches the paper
or canvas and paints you will be using. Test before you execute,
this doesn't prevent changes or doing your work on the page
(board or canvas), but it can prevent foreseeable problems and
facilitate more complex designs and images. FYI |
|
Plein
Air Painting as the modern version of landscape painting is the
tour-de-force project for the painter. To make the painting realistic,
you must paint the "myriad" reflections that define form.
Working from a photograph, freezes the light direction and intensity
reducing the complex image into bite sized pieces. As in most realistic
painting, the layout drawing is the first proof of success or failure
of the project. Since the landscape subject serves as the excuse
and justification to paint, you may vary the scene away from photographic
verisimilitude to a more painterly and expressive venue. Freedom
carries with it responsibility. You owe your audience all the consideration
and careful thought that a tight realist would conjure. Think carefully
about each brush stroke and its effect on the entire painting. The
thousand brush strokes we use to create a painting are only slightly
indicative of the ten thousands of decisions that we make as we
paint.Each of these has a place that establishes the brush strokes
legitimacy in the painting, Painting demonstrates your aesthetic,
it is first and foremost a means of communication andyour means
of expression, all else is subordinate.
Process
& Imposed Forms
We will play with examples of each technique in class. Think of
the landscape photo or sketch as receding in distant space as you
plan the painting. Engage your imagination while painting, it will
serve you better than all your accumulated skill. |
| Work
in class:landscape as subject
|
Work
on the landscape in stages as discussed in class, then give yourself
permission to be expressive. It is the final step after accuracy,
adding the distillation of your vision, the results of your quest
for a personal aesthetic. Recognize precisely what is "Yours"
in the work and make sure your images serve to express that vision.
This is the basis of "Personal Artistic Expression", and
the foundation of a reputation as a landscape painter, or more importantly,
becoming a 'painters painter'.
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