Too few of us are trained to awareness of noticing what our eyes do when we look at a painting, or even when we make observations in our daily living. We use our eyes to find our way around, to guide what we are doing, and to notice things that get our attention. As artists, what we discover about how we are seeing can be used to make stronger paintings by emphasizing, playing down, or using the discovery as a creative tool.
WHAT DO YOUR EYES NOTICE ABOUT EDGES OF SHAPES?
An edge in a painting is like a pause between two musical phrases: it marks the ending of one shape and the beginning of
another. Each side of any edge can be isolated from the other or transitioned from one to another, depending upon how the artist has handled the painting of the edge itself.
Look at how playing with edges is illustrated in a still life painting by Qiang Huang.
Qiang has played with all three of these behaviors in his bunch of grapes.
Sharp edges bring our eyes to a halt, calling our attention to them (below, top arrow), soft and lost edges enable our eyes to
flow from one area of the painting to another (middle and bottom arrows). The soft edge makes a gentle transition, but in the lost edge, we see little difference in where one shape begins and the other one ends. Notice how these edges are working in Qiang's bunch of grapes.
Notice in the next frame the difference in how your eyes behave looking at the A area compared to the B area above. Cursor back up to the original photo, close your eyes, then
open them and notice which of those areas they go to first. Also, focus on the center lime, then notice how the lime behind it takes you to the left side of the painting.
Of course color plays a role in what's happening in those limes, but if both edges were sharp, your eyes wouldn't move so smoothly. With apologies to Qiang, here's what you would see (well,
sorta). Notice, with my tweak, how your eyes stop rather than flow through that lime's edge.
LET'S INVITE THE EYE TO PARTICIPATE
Our eyes want to participate, to become involved in paintings we view. They want to be challenged, not spoon fed. When an artist uses just enough sharp edges to bring us into the painting,
then employs soft and lost edges, our eyes become involved. We feel like we've been invited to become a part of what the painting is all about.
Have yourself a delightful weekend of noticing!
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