Friday, January 15, 2010

EDGES


Much studying of edges this year. I have been delighted with some of the discoveries. A carefully selected color on the tops of the hills helps them roll back under the sky. No need to blend; the color creates the proper edge.

An edge challenge here is in the water. Because of the way the hills slant, their reflections can't be painted in long vertical strokes, yet I still wanted the brush marks to be vertical. I started this reflection with the canvas on its side, painting the reflection like a butterfly wing. That took it out of the brain-interpreted image zone, reducing everything to colors and shapes. Then I turned the painting back upright, and went over all the brushwork with the same colors, using short bits of intermediate color to soften jumpy transitions. It worked pretty well, but I'll have to keep playing with the technique.

2 comments:

Celeste Bergin said...

"painting the reflection like a butterfly wing"....yes, that worked! the water looks water-y and deep!

Karen E. Lewis said...

Thanks. The next painting in the series had the same situation. It's amazing how painting in a series helps solve problems more quickly.