Softening Edges on Structures

Red Bucket on the Porch, 11 x 14

As a landscape artist, I'm always looking for ways to soften edges of leaves, grass, clouds, etc.  And except for things like rocks and edges of tree trunks, most everything in the landscape usually does have a soft edge.  Which is why I find it challenging to paint structures that actually do have hard edges on all sides.  As I studied the work of other artists who are especially skilled at this, I examined how they pick and choose which edges to define, and which edges to lose, or simply have them fade into another area.  I enjoyed challenging myself to do this during a demonstration of this tightly cropped house in a recent class. 

Good thing I sliced up that painting!

Aspen Road at Sunset, 9 x 12



Original size (12 x 16) of the above painting
before I trimmed it down.

 I was fortunate to have Aspen Road at Sunset appear in the recent issue of the Pastel Journal with an Honorable Mention for the 2011 Pastel 100 Competition.  It was also an award winner in the Pastel Society of America's 2010 annual show, and was sold at that show.  So I must've done something right with it.  I actually began this painting as a demo last year in one of my classes.  The topic we studied that day was clouds, which is why a good portion of the original version features clouds.  However, in the weeks following the demonstration, I felt something just wasn't right.  Overall I was happy with the clouds; I liked how the colors in the sky worked well with the colors in the rest of the painting.  But I tend to think that, with most paintings, if there's a lot going on beneath the clouds, then the clouds shouldn't call out for too much attention...the eye needs a rest somewhere.  I did consider cropping the bottom part of the painting and having more of the focus on the clouds, but liked the sunslight on the road and grass too much to part with.  Although the sunlight on the road ended up a bit more centered than I prefer, other elements of the composition worked well. I played around with cropping the image on the computer first, before I picked up an exacto knife, and once I was happy with what I saw on my computer screen, I sliced away!  I'm glad I did.

Same scene, two different approaches.

Dirt Road, 11 x 14
Class demonstration using an alcohol wash underpainting.



Lead the Way, 8 x 10
Done en plein air on a red background.

 We worked on liquid underpaintings in my weekly classes recently, and I demonstrated using a photo from a scenic spot where I had painted en plein air (on location) awhile back.  I took the photo from the exact vantage point that I painted. It was interesting to look at the differences in the two paintings.  I think I prefer the looseness and spontaneity of the plein air version.  I wish I had left more of the underpainting showing through on the studio version.  But with more time in the comfort of my studio later after class, and my goal of making the tall, wispy grass look soft and wind-blown, I fussed with it and covered more of the surface than I planned.  I imagine I was also able to see value differences more clearly on location vs. from the photograph, which I believe was the cause for most of my "fussing."  In both classes, we agreed that the biggest challenge was to discern the values in the grassy areas. Spring is around the corner...must get outside and paint more!

Road May Be Slippery

Road May Be Slippery, 12 x 16

I was going after drama with this piece.  To achieve this, I used a high horizon, angled lines, and bold contrast with both color and light.  When planning out my composition, I took a little extra time to carefully place all of my angles.

I normally don't include items such as telephone poles in my paintings, but I thought their placement here would be a great way to create more depth in the piece, adding to the drama.  I added those last, and it really did make  big difference with increasing the feeling of distance of the painting. 

Autumn Trees Aglow

Autumn Trees Aglow, 9 x 12

In my most recent weekly pastel classes, I had students start a painting from a photo that was manipulated in Photoshop to exagerate the contrast.  In the high contast version of the photo, the image gets divided into 3 - 4 values, making it easier to block in large areas of distinct values.  This technique doesn't work for all photos, but is sometimes a helpful technique to use in the initial stages of the painting when working with busy subject matter, such as large areas of tree foliage.

I also wanted to try my hand at using harmonious colors (see posting below) in this piece.  I must say, that's actually easier to do in oil!

I started two very similar demo versions of this painting...one in each of my pastel classes.  I only had time this past week to finish one of them.  (But I'm not telling either class which one I finished. ;-) )

Trees on the Chattahoochee



Trees on the Chattahoochee, oil, 8 x 10

 One of my goals this year is to become more skilled in oil, and eventually be equally skilled in both oil and pastel.  I recently took a workshop with Bill Davidson and tried to put my newfound knowledge from the workshop to use in this little 8 x 10 piece. Mixing a color palette has been my weakness when working in oil.  We pastel artists are quite spoiled having all the colors right there ready to go. But I'm learning that with mixing a palette, it's much easier to keep all colors in a painting more harmonious by keeping certain colors common in each color that's mixed.  With a large supply of pastels from which to choose, it's too tempting to throw in every color we have, often ending up with a very unharmonious colors, or just plain mud.

Tea Time




Tea Time, 9 x 12

  It was "still life" week in my classes recently, and our focus was on edges.  I find that the most dramatic, eye-catching artwork makes good use of hard and soft edges, and disappearing and reappearing edges.  Artwork that attempts to equally define every element loses its impact when everything in it is fighting for attention.  Good artwork needs places for the eye to rest (the soft and disappearing edges) in order for the more exciting areas (the hard and reappearing edges) to gain attention.

I think still life studies are a great way to learn this concept before applying it to landscape work. With most still life subject matter, there's not very much depth to work with; most items are usually at a close viewing range.  You have to really work at seeing the more important vs. less important areas.

Looking at this image of the finished piece, I'm feeling a little daring and am thinking of going back to it and doing something crazy with the background. There's a good chance I may end up destroying it (as I many times do when I get these crazy urges).  But without the confines of the original scene in front of me, I can simply think in terms of making a dramatic piece of artwork with interesting composition, color combinations, etc.  I've learned not to get too attached to any painting so that I can have fun getting a little crazy every once in awhile.

Winter Trees



Winter Trees, 8 x 10

 In my two weekly classes, we recently worked on how to depict those challenging, barren winter trees.  I did this quick little study before both classes just as a warm-up for myself and to better explain during my demonstrations how to paint this type of tricky subject matter.  I had hoped to post my finished larger piece that I used for both in-class demonstrations.  But with a week fraught with fraudulent charges on my debit card, helping my 6 year old do a research paper on walruses, and troubleshooting some annoying computer problems, the larger painting didn't survive the distractions and died a slow death.  With a few touch ups to my original study, I decided I liked it better anyway! 

Many artists find that their quick studies sometimes look better than work that received their more careful attention. Why?  I think one reason is because when we work quickly, we use fewer strokes of each pastel stick.  Fewer strokes means fresher, unmuddied color application. Most of us also do a better job of getting down the big shapes quickly without fussing with the details when we know it's just a "practice" piece.  For anyone who's taken my class, you know the importance of big shapes first; details later. This doesn't mean you shouldn't take the time to carefully plan a painting, or that you should always paint very fast. It just means that paintings tend to be more successful when they retain a fresh color application, and that a good artist will know when to skim over the superfluous details and when to slow down and think through the challenging areas.

Just to let you in on a little secret...I actually did an even quicker 5 x 7 study before the 8 x 10 above.  So I did already solve a few problems I had with the 5 x 7 before embarking on this one.