With the Visual Paths Workshop coming up in a couple of weeks, I thought it would be fun to take a brief tour through a couple of favorite paths used by artists for centuries.
WHAT THE HECK IS A VISUAL PATH?
Visual paths are ways of leading a viewer's eye, of keeping it moving throughout a painting while staying within the
work. For centuries, master painters have found ways to create these paths without our being conscious of them. One of the most famous paintings containing strong paths was done over six hundred years ago.
The focal point is obviously the face of Jesus, but Leonardo has played with our eyes to hold our attention there: He's used
converging lines in the architecture, the spread of Jesus' hands and suggested alignment of the tops of some of the disciples' heads. Look at this:
But converging lines is only one technique for creating a visual path. There are
more.
THE TRIANGULAR PATH AND RICHARD SCHMID
A favorite path of Richard Schmid is the triangular path. Thumbing through his book, Alla Prima, we find
him using it in multiple ways, especially in his portraits and still lifes, and occasionally in his landscapes. Here are three of his lithographs, each a different genre, but all using the triangular path.
In the two pieces shown at the top in this grouping, the directional movement created by the positioning
of each image take this path. But in the roses, the path leads our eyes pursuant to his placement of individual flowers, with a second one echoed by surrounding foliage and brush marks.
Converging lines and the triangle are two of several paths used by artists for centuries.
Modern painters have found more creative ways to keep our eyes moving throughout their works. It's a fascinating subject to study.
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