To me, part of the fun in painting is all the different subjects just waiting to be captured on canvas. I “see” landscapes in bright summer and snowy winter, cityscapes in drizzly rain and brightly lit night scenes, objects of ordinary yet somehow interesting design. The world seems full of potential subjects.
Landscapes were probably the first subject in painting that I was drawn to. I love the outdoors and painting nature. The shape and color of trees against the sky with foregrounds that lead right into the picture was a scene that I have painted many, many times and no end in sight. As the colors change with every season, it is such a challenge for me to figure out how to match the colors that nature puts out there. I paint plein air or in the open air as it is translated from French, and also from photo reference that I take myself. I paint on rather small 6 x 8 and 8 x 10 canvas panels mostly. That size and my style allows me to be able to finish a painting in about an hour and a half. I aim for the impression and feeling of a scene with correct color and composition with minimal yet lively brushstrokes. Some of the smaller paintings I have done are then turned into larger ( 16 x 20 ) canvases. Landscapes can be your backyard or down the street. They can be a park nearby or a farm. I have painted the neighborhood behind my house quite a few times. If you travel take a lot of photos for future possibilities. Some famous artists had disagreed on what to paint one saying don’t paint anything closer than 50 feet and the other said don’t paint anything farther than 50 feet. Try both and see where you feel comfortable. I tend to paint farther and my Mother-in-Law paints closer.
Cityscapes are a great subject for their design and color. They have lots of vertical lines in the buildings, light poles, street signs and windows and horizontal lines in the streets and sidewalks. That with the sparkling traffic lights, car lights etc. it becomes quite a interesting painting. Again I am not going for realistic depiction of the details in the cars and buildings but how they all fit together in relation to one another in shape and color and texture.
Still life painting is great because there is no hurry once it is set up. It isn’t going anywhere, the light isn’t changing. The trick is to get the composition right. A viewfinder is essential so you can crop the scene correctly. A rule of thumb that I learned was not to have the edges of objects “kissing”, or right on the edge of the canvas. Crop it so the edges are either well into the frame or a third of it is out of frame. Harder than it sounded at first. Also place object in front of each other to create depth. Use a well directed light source to make shadows also creating more depth.
These are a few things that I have picked up over the years and I am happy to share them. I am not the last word on art techniques or painting but I do like learning new things and passing the on.
Paint.Relax.Repeat.
until next time
JeffreyJBowers