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So in your work, if you are depicting objects that vary in size – i.e., mountains, rocks, trees, houses, rivers, valley, beaches, the list goes on and on.  Add a point of reference that varies very little, like people, (our subconscious tends to average these out, but even the extremes that exist taken into account, helps to narrow down the true relative size of objects around them).  What about fences, sheep or animals generally? A heard of cows will turn a backyard into a paddock.  I could extend the list but I think you are getting the idea.

A word of warning.  Make sure you get the sizes right!  I have seen a horse that if correct compared to the fence would be a toy.  I have seen a big snow capped mountain that, compared to the visual eyes, shouldn’t have snow on it, because it would be only a hill. 

By contrasting one against the other you can get a very dramatic statement. 

We have finished with the subject of contrasting for now, so we will move on in the next tip to the next subject on my list.  Overlapping.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time on these, as I have already spent a lot of time on general composition. 

What I would like to do is cover some of the “Paint on the hands” problems and solutions you may have.

So e-mail me with you questions, answers.  If you have found a practice that has helped you, it may help others and me also.

Happy Painting 
Ron.

An explanation of last months composition, no no’s.

THE MECHANICAL CENTRE

That is to say, the actual centre.  Draw a straight line from diagonal corners, and where they cross is the place to stay away from with any major element of your composition.  Ornaments of equal size placed equally spaced along a shelf may look very nice in a home but that thinking has no place in a work of art.  I often plot the centre and mark it when I first start to map out my composition, so I know where to avoid. 

LINES ACROSS THE COMPOSITION 

These divide the composition up and form visual barriers to the viewers eye, so that sub-consciously they are not encouraged to “walk” into the composition. 

Horizontal lines are unavoidable but don’t allow them to span right across your work.

DETAIL TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE

So often it seems like detail is squashed by the edge of the canvas.  Remember a frame is going on after you have finished.  So don’t make it look crowded by the frame.

I will continue next month.

Happy Painting.

Ron

I am very aware that I will have a very broad band of artists reading this, so, I will try to be as broad as I can.  That is to say, subject matter those artists will be applying this material to from still life, to abstract right through to the more traditional landscapes.

They all have one thing in common. They must some how pick up the viewers interest or catch the eye ‘so to speak’. So having ‘caught the eye’ what are you going to do with it?  It is therefore helpful to develop techniques that guide the eye down the paths that you want them to go.  So you can deposit them in the area that is important to you that they see clearly. 

As a landscape artist I tend to think in terms of things in the landscape, but for you it could be the subtle folds in a cloth leading towards your prime subjects in a still life.

A road or track maundering through a landscape can tie together all the elements very nicely.  A closed gate on a track will cause a lessening of the viewers sub conscious urge to wander down it.

So whatever the - eye path, make it inviting pleasant with out obstacles that cut across the eye path.  Remember it should run INTO the subject, not across it. 

I am enjoying your e-mail

Many thanks
Ron Gribble.

Some students always start to lay out their paintings at the horizon; some start at the sky, - some the foreground.

For me, the answer has been little more complex than that.  I need to ask myself a few questions.

1. What would I like to keep away from the middle of the composition?

2. What detail do I want to be sure not to lose off the sides, top or bottom?

3. What was it that made me want to paint this?  Where should that element appear in the composition?

Too often, I have noticed paintings skilfully done but with some vital element crowded closely to the bottom edge, while there is much too much sky at the top!

So start drawing up your work at the point of primary interest or considering my three questions, and start there.

If you give the canvas a light coat of linseed oil first, (use a rag) and then draw it up using a pastel colour (I use a atmosphere colour of the particular work) to draw in the elements using a fine round brush.  If you make a mistake, it will rub off easily because of the linseed oil. 

If some of your drawing up is still visible in the finished work, it doesn’t matter; as the atmosphere colour is not going to look out of place anywhere at all.

I don’t use pencil or charcoal as it will have to be thoroughly “fixed” and it will show through the paint.  Lets not make life harder than it has to be!

Happy Painting

Ron Gribble 

As promised last month I will attempt to address the composition question.

That is, the arrangement of the elements, of a subject to compliment the focal points and create a harmonious, inviting place for the viewers eye to rest in. Probably not the best definition in the world, but will do for now.

To achieve all of the above, a good composition should have all or most of the following:

1. Foreground, mid-ground, background
2. Eyepath
3. Primary point of interest
4. Area of mystery
5. Scale
6. Non-geometric arrangement of elements.

There is a lot of personal preference involved in all of this, but lets take a ‘broad brush’ look.

1. Foreground, Mid-ground and Background:

Yes, even still life, or ‘key hole’ subjects. You should be showing depth. One of the three maybe very under stated, but leave it out altogether at your own risk.

2. Eye Path:

That is, an element of work that guides the viewer though and into the point of interest and deposit in the ‘area of mystery’ (see below).

3. Primary Point of Interest:

The reason the work was achieved for.  What you want to be dominant – this is your message. There can be no lesser points of interest but this one is painted in such a way as to hold the eye.

4. Area of Mystery:

An area that is so understated, that is in not obvious as to what you are saying. Soft focus? Misty? Distant?  Let the viewers interpret this from their own point of reference.

5. Scale:

There should be something the viewer can latch onto to give the whole work scale.  Answer the question. How big am I? Is that rock a mighty mountain, or a pebble?  How big is that tree, mountain, waterfall, water expanse?

Put something that the viewer can use to make comparison. A huge ocean liner under, dwarfed by an expanse of water or mountain, will do a different scale job, than putting in a rowboat.

 A figure or two, an animal or three, even a fence line will help.  We all know how big these are compared to ourselves.

6. Non-geometric Arrangement of Elements:

Keep the vital things away from the middle. Try thinking in terms of thirds. Points of interest details of elements arranged a third up from the side, and a third in.  Think in shapes and vary them one tree on a hill, flowers, rock on whatever is not going to be going to be made five times more interesting by adding five more.  The reverse is more true. Not all elements sloping in the same direction.

Next tip: Where do I start when face with a blank canvas? Background/sky? Foreground? Mid-ground? Focal Point?

Thank you to those who have e-mailed me with comments – it makes all work worth if you enjoy this column. (e-mail Ron Click Here)

Happy Painting 
Ron

When I see a painting that is painted ‘loose’, I immediately look to see if it is accurate in the draughmanship.

By loose, I mean ‘Broad brush’, with impasto brushstrokes, or like pallet knife work.

I had this discussion once with an ‘educated’ artist – who suffered many years in art school to learn the trendy definitions but with little practical application.

I pointed out that is you want to illustrate a subject (in this case, a boat) in a landscape there are certain rules to obey.  My friendly degree holder retorted, “There are no rules in art”.  My response was “If that is true, what did you spend six years learning”?  I did not get an answer! Of course there are rules, a you must obey them if you want to accurately give the impression of the subject. The trick id to them so well that you know how to bend them, and which ones to bend, to your own agenda.

Do the horizons run uphill? No!
Do the colours get darker as they come forward? Yes
Do objects get larger as they come forward? Yes.
Does water run uphill?  Do shadows show more than one light source in the landscapes?  I could go on!

Next tip I want to begin a lengthy subject of composition.  When you are standing in front of a blank canvas where do you start? How do you start? Were do you start? What subjects are easier for the beginner? There are many problems that you are going to encounter while attempting the painting.  Why not eliminate as many of those as you can in the first half hour of working?  There are many things that will make the job harder later on if you don’t think it through earlier.

This is one of the most neglected areas in painting courses.

The bottom line is that you, the artists have to decide the application that suits that particular subject.

• Loosely applied, bold, exposed brush strokes
• Fine glazes
• Smaller detailed brush strokes
• Palette knife
• Variations such as ‘spatter’, or ‘scaffitto’, ‘scrumbling’ etc.

I would like to give some overall “things to look out for”!

A bold apparent loose style is a lot more “painterly” and has a lot more character than the alternative detailed.  If you are very talented as a draftsman and your style is developed the fine detail may well be for you.  However most artists tend to over-work a painting when using a smaller brush.  The work becomes boring repetitive and predictable.

Often when completing an important detail I will go back to into that area specifically to make it more bold.  I will over paint an area that is correct, with a larger brush or pallet knife. I would rather “be wrong at the top my voice, than be a whisper”.

So I limit the time that I spend using a fine brush.  If the brush feels slightly too big for the job it is probably the correct one.

Next time “Loose is no excuse for inaccurate” Are there any rules in art?

Happy Painting

Ron Gribble

There are very good reasons why artists do this.  First lets define ‘thin’ and ‘fat’

Thin – meaning that the paint is put on the canvas thinly.  This may mean that you have mixed a quantity of medium with it to thin it or it may be that you have simply ‘scrubbed’ it onto the surface so that is applied very thinly.

Fat – meaning paint that is ‘Impasto’ i.e., straight out of the tube and applied in bolder thicker chunks.

I have two very good reasons that I can think of instantly, and other lesser reasons.

1. If you lay down a ‘fat’ paint area you are limited to what you can do over the top of it.  Try painting fat on fat and you will get mud when painting wet on to wet paint.

2. By putting down a ‘thin’ area you are preparing the area for an opportunity to contrast with fat painted details on top.  The more sedate thin paint adds weight to the “Shout at you “ fat paint.

Generally you should place early details on thinly and progressively get fatter and fatter as you progress, finishing off with bold highlights that look like they were thrown on, but are not.

In my next tip I will talk about ‘Application – Looks like it is thrown on’.

Happy Painting
Ron Gribble

This theory is a very sound one for painting in Oils. But that is on its own will not be enough.  As well as putting on darks first, start with thin paint and no detail, and work towards ‘Fatter’ and fatter paint and more and more detail. I will explain over my next three months. 

DARKS ON FIRST:
Remember, you are painting the deepest darks first, were very little light is penetrating. Especially if you are painting a scene outside, much of this deep shadow could be some distance from you. Conclusion: Nobody, unless their father is an eagle can see detail in deep shade at a distance. So don’t put any detail in at this stage.  Try to lather paint on with as little brush strokes visible as possible, just like painting the house – ‘Lay off’ the paint by gentle horizontal and vertical brush strokes, with a beard flat brush. This prepares the way to contrast some detail against the “quiet” area, when you lay on high lights. This works particularly well with distant details in landscapes. It will also, if your colours are wisely mixed, add to the depth, as it confirms the viewer’s subconscious expectations, that detail recedes with distance.

Next month, Start thin, Finish Fat, the opposite of weight watches.

If there are subjects you would like covered, please e-mail me.

Regards

Ron Gribble  

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