In this painting, the Japanese maple didn't bother me before I started painting, but it made a busy and confusing passage at the end. It created visual cluster that's not clear. Clarity is a very important part of a good design.
In Photoshop I did a couple versions to see how I could simplify the corner
 | |
| version 1 |
 |
| version 2 |
I decided on version 2, because it establishes that the grass is in front of the road and house, it also leads the viewers' eyes back up and circle back to the left side.
I left the painting on the shelf to dry, and for a couple days, something just wasn't right. It was the house on the far right, it was white, and created a high contrast with the tree. I repainted the house to dark blue in the same value as the tree, that merged the 2 shapes into one mass. Merging the shapes is another thing you can do with your design. James Gurney calls it Shape Welding.
Changing a big part of a painting like this can be risky, but it has to be done. I really like the quote from Kevin Courter on fixing one of his paintings LINK:
" Making changes like this requires taking a risk. The painting was OK
before, but that was the problem – it was just OK. I wanted something
better. Taking the risk was the only option."
 |
| Tree of yesterday - oil on panel - 9" x 12" |
On top of that change, I also moved the bush that's overlapping the car sightly to the left, so the overlap is not perfect.
I paint on locations, but doesn't mean that my paintings need to be finished outdoors as well. The painting might look fine out there, but when I come home I can have a change of mind, or see the painting under a new light (literally), and notice things to improve. I need to do whatever I need to do to the painting to satisfy myself, wherever. Whether or not I can call myself a plein air painter to someone else is not of my concern.
No comments:
Post a Comment