Blog

Even though my paintings are considered representational, I enjoy the challenge of creating a compelling visual image that isn't overly reliant on someone's emotional attachment to the subject matter. In order to accomplish this, staying mindful of the the abstract elements that are known to attract the eye is a really valuable discipline. This is the idea behind establishing a focal point at the very beginning of the painting process. Having the habit of initiating key decisions early on gives me solid parameters to relate all of the other notes to, but also forces me to identify the most important aspect I'm wanting to capture in that particular arrangement. This becomes even more  important when working in a genre where the objects can have infinite variety in shape, size, color and value. While it's possible to skate by without a plan or a concept of a plan, I don't like to count on that sort of luck following me around and much prefer to hedge my bets when I can. Once the notes within the focal point are established, I have a better idea of how far I can push the other areas of the composition ,or even more importantly, what sort of information can be left out in order to strengthen the central story of the painting.

 In practice, a focal point really just boils down to a collection of shapes and colors that the eye will tend to go to first. (For the record -- I use the terms focal point, focal area, center of interest and center of attention pretty much interchangeably.) Leaving aside the different considerations when it comes to composing with figures or animals, there are fortunately some fairly easy to remember guidelines for making sure an arrangement will have a compelling center of interest. Lightest light, darkest dark, hardest edge, brightest chroma and detail are all attention getters, and everything else being equal, gathering all or most of these strongest statements in one area will produce a compelling center of interest.These more extreme notes are also the ones that are easiest to see and therefore to get on the canvas correctly.  Establishing a focal point is perhaps the most essential for representational paintings done with a direct painting approach where the goal is capturing a convincing feel of light and depth. Even when it comes to purely non-objective works of art though, I find myself more drawn to images where my eye can land in an area to focus on fairly quickly rather than the attention being evenly distributed across the picture plane.

 A guiding principle to help navigate setting up and painting a composition is essential if my plan is to develop a mental picture of what I hope to accomplish in a particular arrangement. Often as I'm working in the studio, I'm struck by the thousands of options and choices being  considered -- literally for every stroke. Every touch of the brush or knife has the potential to be warmer, cooler, thicker, lighter, darker, more neutral, more chromatic, etc. etc. It's really no wonder where the term 'easel brain' comes from. After many years of painting, a lot of these decisions are on a faster and more intuitive level, but at best still require some intense brain energy and it takes a surprising amount of mental discipline to stick with the original concept and not veer off track.

Although it does bother me to know the odds of making every decision exactly right are not in my favor, that really isn't the point! By keeping attention on the big picture -- the story of the light and the way the large patterns come together -- many of these decisions will become easier and more obvious as the painting progresses. Sticking with the priorities established in the focal point allows the artist to concentrate their energy on the areas that will count the most. In other words, choices within the peripheral areas become more apparent when the supporting players are not in competition with the central concept of the painting. We cannot copy nature, so the best we can do is reprepresent as faithfully as possible the relationships we see, and thereby create an illusion that reflects the message we're attempting to convey. 

 It's very rarely a smooth path all the way through to the finish however. In almost every painting there's a point where I think the piece isn't working and that I'm wasting my time trying to make something happen. On rare occasions this may be true, but so seldom is the whole canvas truly an irredeemable mess that I've come to anticipate these moments of angst and see them as another part of the process--part of the challenge. When the second-guessing comes up,  I just try my best to just stay on track, retrace my steps back to the focal point if necessary and continue patiently adding one stroke after another. What is far more likely to result in a irredeemable mess is when I panic and count on luck, speed or chutzpah to blaze through and win the day. The effortlessness I aim to achieve in my work is more a by-product of the trust I have in the decisions I've already made in the painting up to that point , rather than any deliberate attempt to paint in a bravura manner. 

Western Bluebirds feeding their young. The little ones flew off before I caught a glimpse of them but I have seen the parents visiting the house again in the past few days. Fingers crossed there will be a second brood this year!

"Be Patient with yourself. Nothing in nature blooms all year." -- author unknown

"Well-being is realized by small steps, but truly is no small thing." --- Zeno