Latest posts by michael wilson (see all)
- JORDAN RIVER - February 5, 2019
- Inspired Art - August 2, 2018
- Waiting for Inspiration - July 31, 2018
- The Bridge between Painting and Photography - July 31, 2018
It is my experience that a new painting will often contain at least ‘one remarkable passage’, an area that is exceptional. It often represents an area where you as the artist was particularly focused and that one spot-it just seems to pop. I often call them passages because paintings often are created in stages or passages, certain clusters and then by degrees, all of these various ‘passages’ are brought together and merged. This is certainly true of abstract paintings.
Often towards the end of a painting I will study a work and make decisions how to enliven or enhance an area and this kind of study later on in the painting can result in that ‘one remarkable passage’. We need this kind of advancement to encourage us. We step slightly beyond our abilities and grow just a little and do something that surprises us. These are valuable to us as painters. We should strive for this. I like the story (supposedly true) of an apprentice to Singer Sargeant who observed his process. She said that in the end he would carefully study a painting and then come up to the ‘completed’ painting and then swiftly add just one or two highlights – sometimes a mere dash. It seemed to her that all of a sudden the painting just jumped out just by those one, two or three well-placed accents. It is this kind of attention that makes all the difference.
We are not at his level but we can endeavor to look for, identify and augment that one area that seems to anchor the entire painting, that gives it life and energy. Almost every painting has a particularly strong area. Sometimes it is just a well-placed stroke of color of the right hue or a line that seems perfectly made that unites sections of the painting. Look for that one special area and let it be an encouragement towards your next painting.
