A Painting is Transformed by Care with EDGES

'The Golden Days'            11x14             pastel            ©Karen Margulis
available $250

 It pays to be careful with edges. They can really make a difference in the success of a painting. The subject of edges is not discussed as much as it should in my opinion. It is one of those concepts in painting that seems so simple that perhaps it doesn't need much attention. What is an edge? Simply put it is where two shapes meet in a painting. If you can see where the shapes join it is a sharp or hard edge. If you can't see where the shapes connect then that edge is soft.

There is a lot more to it but the important thing for us to remember is that we have to control the edges in our paintings. If an edge is hard then the eye is drawn to it....the contrast pulls our eye. If an edge is soft then we don't notice it. This gives us POWER! We can direct the viewers eye through a painting by our treatment of the edges.

The 'Before' version

Let's look at today's aspen painting. In the original version above most of the edges are soft and fuzzy. This gives the painting an overall fuzzy out of focus feeling. Nothing stands out. It is Blah. I used this painting in a Patreon video last month to demonstrate the power of edges. It actually had too many hard edges so I brushed off most of them. Today I reworked the painting with a concentration of making the edges work to pull the viewer around the painting. 

Look at the reworked version. Can you see where I made edges hard and where they are soft? 

You can get more lessons and videos about the topic of edges and much more on my Patreon Page. www.patreon.com/karenmargulis

Have you had a chance to visit my Thankful Event 50% sale in my Etsy shop? There are some wonderful paintings looking for good homes! Have a look! And THANK YOU to all who have made a purchase! click here to go to my shop www.etsy.com/shop/karenmargulisfineart