All Things Fine Art

I am often asked by students why I draw with geometric line (GL). The answer is based both on visual simplicity and practicality. When I initialize a concept on paper or canvas, I do not want to create specifics. Rather, my goal is to discover spatial relationships and the placement of the various subject elements within the boundaries of the support, in a way that allows for necessary adjustments.  

Note the geometric line that effectively suggests angles and spatial relationships 

added on top of the local color block-in. I often loosely re-draw important subject

elements after the block-in so they are not lost.

It is so much easier to adjust angles and spacing between object with GL than it is with curved and defined complex shapes. In short, keeping the initial stages of a drawing or painting simple allows an artist the opportunity to model the subject to the best effects in relation to the support. It is impractical to begin with a refined drawing when basic spatial relationships and placement  have not been effectively established.  I much prefer to hold off commitment to the whole until I know that I have established a pleasingly workable visual design. 

"Early Thaw", 11x14", oil on canvas panel.

There is always great strength in simplicity. Too much fuss and complexity creates confusion within a design and for the viewer. Making a simple well placed statement draws the viewer in and captures their interest much more effectively. The old saying, "less is more" is certainly true. 

Developing a large painting from a small plein air work requires a bit more information and story telling to make the larger image interesting. Where one brush stroke can imply a field in a small study, it may take 50 in a large work. Making those larger shapes interesting is sometimes a stretch of the creative imagination.

"Colors of Autumn", 20x20", oil on linen, $950.

Below, I've included the original plein air study and the larger painting as it looked when about half done. As you can see, there has been a considerable amount of "story telling", with brush work and color adjustments in the painting from this earlier version. In reality, I found the painting  quite difficult to photograph correctly in its final version. Try as I might, I was unable to bring up the subtle green tones in the background hills and enrich the warm  colors as they are exhibited in the original painting. The variety of tones made it difficult for the camera to capture, unlike the earlier version where less variety was exhibited in the large shapes. The richness of color in the early version actually remains in the finished painting even though it does not appear that way here.  I hope you enjoy it.

Early version.

Plein  air study, oil on canvas, $450