In the 2022 online Richard Schmid celebration, one of the featured artists, Scott Burdock, emphasized how essential "squint and compare" are for the painter. Richard's 2013 "Nasturtium Sketch" is typical of how honing that skill contributes to amazing results. Do you know how to squint? It's not an exact science, although we do it automatically if suddenly we're encountering a bright
light. My practice is to close one eye and bring the other eyelid down halfway until I can't see any textures. Some folks tilt their heads back and allow their eyelids to drop. Nearsighted folks can just remove their glasses. Each painter must discover what works best for them. Thing is, squinting is one of the most important things you do, not only in the beginning of a painting, but throughout the process of making it. But it's no good if you don't know how to use it, and that's where comparing comes in. By making comparisons (NOT judgments), you discover all sorts of relationships in your subject that otherwise, you might
overlook. For starters... • Compare (while squinting) the locations of the fields of shadow and the fields of light. That's your major value structure • Compare (while squinting) the degrees of value you see within shadow areas and within light areas. That's your value variation. • Compare (while squinting) the shifts in color you see, how a yellow green can
shift to a bluer green, or how an orange can shift into a red on the same flower. That's your hue variation. • Compare (while squinting) the color you are mixing with the color it juxtaposes in your work
• Compare (while squinting) the stroke you make with the strokes around it • Stand back often and compare (while squinting) the progression of your painting with your reference. These pointers are just to get you started. One kind of comparison can lead you to others. There is no way to anticipate what you're going to see, so take an attitude of looking for what's there. WHERE AUTHENTICITY COMES INThe practice of squinting obscures the noisy details that are likely to interfere with the painter's ability to see the most important structure of a subject. The details themselves are icing
on the cake, but without that structure, they fall flat. But squinting without comparing can become altogether meaningless. That having been said, one of the things that enables an artist to express that authentic voice is their response to seeing through their own eyes rather than through the eyes of others. Squinting and comparing
enables that authenticity because what you discover is received by your eyes, then expressed by your response to it. Now THAT is a beautiful thought! Enjoy a fun weekend making using intangible tools!
|
Happy Painting,
Dianne
dianne@diannemize.com
|
During my Language of Painting series, I explained the role of our visual elements. If you'd like to review those roles to better understand the behavior of elements, here are the links to each of those
discussions: Color --Value -- Shape -- Texture -- Size -- Line and Direction
You can access the archive of all my newsletters (as well as the Quick Tips and other stuff) at any time by going HERE.
|
