Carrying the message 'strongly' in a painting is one of the key goals of a watercolor painter. One should never struggle too long over a weak depiction. The key is to begin over if the inital attempt appears to be too weak because in painting the stage must be set early for success.
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
Aug 10, 2008
Rodin once said that the artist had to recognize and point out things of significance. Some think that the artist selects them, points them out and reveals the inner truth of the 'significant' to the world. Some think that the artists job is to show the significance of all things to the world. I agree with the latter and think it is a far greater challenge but more rewarding in the end.
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
Aug 07, 2008
As C.S. Lewis once put it, "Nature is only the sketch." It is what we see as an image of the beauty that lies behind it. It points to the far off territory beyond from whence it all arises. It is the beauty of this far off territory that the watercolorist seeks to point toward. To suggest in some poetic fashion that true beauty lies beyond the surface of nature is possible in watercolor and the painting structures utilized by the watercolorist.
Posted by: Jim in Painting Technique on
Aug 05, 2008
For an audience to believe that you have created a forever painting you have to build in complexity. This is somehting that was, not only known, but widely utilized in past centuries. When painting was a primary mode of entertainment it was imperative that the artist build in levels and depths of meaning in order to have a painting stand up to the scrutiny of repeated viewings. If the viewers always felt that there were more hidden meanings than could be comprehended in an intial viewing, they would be drawn back to the piece again and again. Today we seem to have lost the ability and desire to build such complexity into our watercolor paintings. While design and color can contribute to feeling and meaning they do not allow the viewere to continually explore and find new and different meanings hidden within the framed work. They are significance is primarily emotional. We need to begin once more to explore this idea of complexity as a part of the design process in order to create more memorable works.
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
Jun 16, 2008
The captioned could be a mantra for anyone wishing to create forever paintings. For what else can be gained from just creating ones that are 'Nice'? A question to ponder for any artist aspiring to create something new and meaningful. Will your painting stir or will it simply be used to adorn a wall?
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
May 20, 2008
C.S. Lewis once said that in order to make progress in any matter sometimes the most productive way is to begin over. I have found that once I am on a pathway and have a fundemental set of protocols (in use and that work) I have a hard time breaking out and doing anything truly creative.
Instead I continue to pursue the same methods with little change in the outcomes. I paint alot of nice pictures but nothing truly great. I find myself stuck!
A couple of dozen years ago I took some lessons and the painter I was studying with had me begin with the color wheel. I didn,t understand at the time but this was to give me a fresh start. It was to give me another chance to begin again from the start and to open new opportunties to growth and creativity.
It seems to be a painterly approach to contemplation of the art. I think now that the more times you start over the more chance you have to create something truly new that has the potential to be a Forever Painting. (I now do a new color wheel once a week!)
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
May 18, 2008
A painting that shows us, or makes us feel, more of what the world is like is one that can be considered forever. It is the difference between surface representation and essence.
The world is much more complex and interesting than it may appear. If we are only aware of what is represented by the obvious we will never be able to appreciate the complexity and interconnectiveness/ interdependent nature of all of existance.
A 'Forever Painting' seeks to take us below the surface and to show the richness of the relationahips and complexities of our world. This is true of abstract as well as representational painting.
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
Apr 20, 2008
Tiepolo, the great painter of ceilings, had ideas that point the way for others of us in our pursuit of great paintings. Here are some of them.
Creating a world beyond common experience
Vaghezza - a subtle beauty
Great Spectacles unfolding in light
vast aerial spaces
Grandiosity, compositional richness
A labrynth of images
To Paint a World
Create great spaces!
Show the mind far more things than it hoped to see
These are just some of the ideas that I use to get started when
composing a new painting. I think they help to go beyond the normal
boundaries of my everyday thought processes and the patterns of
rendering that are comfortable to my ego.
Posted by: Jim in Philosophy, Painting on
Apr 16, 2008
C.S.Lewis tells us that if we are on the wrong track that the quickest and most successful way forward to is to go back to the beginning and start over. I think that this holds true for most artists who are seeking what has been called the 'Innocence of the Eye'. The idea is to see again as if for the first time without prejudice or conditioned thoughts and processes. It is these processes that we painters have to avoid if we are to see and depict something that is more truthful and less ordinary. It is also one of the most difficult objectives before us.
I know that my greatest temptation is to resort to known or previously successful pathways to construction of the paintings and depiction of the subjects or ideas. While this often leads to 'nice' or 'good' paintings they always seem to fall short of the original vision that I had before execution. They seem to get watered down the further I go into the painting as I seek not to render from the heart of the vision but from the pattern of the intellect.
I have found that the best way for me to avoid this is not to spend too much time (if any) in the laying out of the painting on the watercolor paper. I now try to go directly(as directly as possbile!) from the vision to painting process. I have found that a drawing with any detail tends to 'contain' and 'restrain' the vision. I therefore try to launch directly into the painting process on the blank paper with only the vision in my mind before me. This is a similar process to one that I have developed for the use of my consulting clients in the development of new creative approaches to solving probelms and developing new opportunties. The interesting thing to me is the way that I feel when I am in this process as opposed to the more traditional one. In the new process I feel free, open and energized. It is exiting and reminds me more of when I was finger painting in grade school. Maybe this is the best way to become innocent again!
Posted by: Jim in Untagged on
Feb 29, 2008
Robert E. Wood always taught that it was important to create a ‘unified whole' within the frame. He called this ‘Containment'. The subject was to be whole, not dependent on anything outside of itself and not leading to anything beyond itself.
Similarly Christopher Alexander in his book, The Nature of Order, explains that everything is coming from the whole. It is an unfolding process in nature where the whole is differentiating itself but doing so with the same underlying algorithm. It is this whole and the underlying algorithms that make forever paintings and it is the job of the artist to use these underlying principles in the design of a successful painting.
Woods List included the following...
Unity
Balance
Containment
Alexander's List is a bit longer....
Levels of Scale
Strong Centers
Boundaries
Levels of Scale
Strong Centers
Boundaries
Alternating Repetition
Positive Space (no leftovers)
Good Shapes
Local Symmetries
Deep Interlock and Ambiguity
Contrast
Gradients
Roughness
Echoes
The Void
Simplicity and Inner Calm
Non-Separateness
What we find is that these same principles go beyond just painting and into all pursuits in the world. Anything that seems to have the ‘forever' feel seems to have more of these than not involved in its design.
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