 |
| 'Come Rest Here' 8x10 pastel ©Karen Margulis click here to purchase on Etsy $125 |
I didn't realize how 'unsaid' they were until someone was looking at it and commented how they liked the distant city skyline. I took a closer look and realized that indeed my distant tree line could easily be interpreted as a city in the distance.
All of the sudden the painting took on a new life. Instead of a scene in the country it was an oasis of a city green space!
This drove home for me the advice we often hear...
Leave things to a viewer's imagination
I began the painting with a very abstract black and white thumbnail. This helped me block in the big simple shapes when I began the painting. I was then able to gradually build up the painting slowly adding details. I chose to keep it loose and simple. I could have worked on it further and put in more grasses and leaves...but then there would be nothing left for the viewer to interpret. And that wouldn't be as much fun!
Today's Painting Challenge: Paint something today and be sure to stop sooner than you might usually stop. Decide just how much more detail you will add but make an effort to leave things unsaid. Do a thumbnail first. It will really help!
2 comments:
Thats a difficult challenge Karen! The hardest pat about painting is knowing when to stop so that your paintings don't appear to be "over worked". That's something I still struggle with as I try to define my style. This may be easier too when doing multiple versions of the same picture/
At first when I looked at your painting, I tough it was a large park perhaps in the suburbs away from the city. The weather reminds me of spring, sunny but not very warm.
Beautiful as always!
Thank you Vanessa! This has been fun to share and talk about!!
Post a Comment