Kick It Up A Notch!

"Carmel Cypress"
oil on canvas panel, 12" x 16"

There are times when one must rise to the challenge to see if one can take on another level of higher complexity. Today, I kicked it up a notch.

As I have said in the last few posts, I have become way more conscious of edges. There IS logic to them. I wasn’t sure that there was a few months back, but can see now that it is crucial to have variation in edges where transitions of value occur. Vegetation and trees have all sorts of edges. Notice in this piece how values change back and forth, light holes, tree trunks, background changes etc. Where one value meets another, there might be reasons for hard, medium or soft edges. Sometimes it is logical, sometimes is has to be a feeling . . .for example, in places where the eye will pass quickly, detail or sharp texture doesn’t work. Soft, blurred suggestions of edge or shapes coax the eye to look beyond and seek sharp contrasts or more detail.

This painting was no little effort. So much value change, texture, light, shadow, half light and more kept me on my toes for a full six hours. This one was a balancing act at a higher level. More complexity offers more opportunity to fail . . . but also to succeed!! With every painting, these last few weeks, I feel advancement. There is plenty much more to learn and tackle over the next 30 years or so . . . .but for now, I am reaching as far and as fast as I can. Tooooo much funnn!!!!

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