The art in art
Realist painters paint "things" - ordinary, or not-so-ordinary, people,
places, and objects. Realist painting has certain parameters, the most
obvious being the representation of some aspect of a universally
accepted visual reality. Abstract painting does not attempt to
represent an accurate (or semi-accurate) depiction of visual
representation, but, like realism, is dependent on the basic visual
elements of line, shape, value, and color.
A good painting, whether realist or abstract, should be able to use the
visual elements of line, shape, value, and color to create pattern,
unity, variety (including a variety of edges), texture, rhythm, and
movement. This is art language.
Too often realist paintings default to the representation of objects as
sufficient. This is unfortunate, since painting is so much more than
trying to make "something look like something". A realist painting,
just like an abstract painting, needs to be about art language. A
painting should have unity and variety within an overall pattern of art
information.
Some paintings are more explicit in pattern, and some less so. Some use
color extensively, some use value, and some paintings use both. No
matter how the visual elements are used, a painting needs to engage us
in a way that is visually interesting, and a realist painting needs to
use art information that is, at the very least, as important as the
"things" that it is portraying.
Seeing and painting variety in edges is one of the major stumbling
blocks realist painters encounter. Too many painters think edges are
some kind of arbitrary flourish instead of an inherent part of
three-dimensional reality and an integral part of visual language.
If we think we see "things" as having hard edges everywhere, it is only
because our visual system is designed to notice differences instead of
being attuned to subtle changes. A painter needs to learn to see
differently and to look for the variety in edge information to be able
to convincingly use edges as transitions between value, shapes and
color.
Three realist painters who were masters of edge interpretation are
Joaquin Sorolla, Anders Zorn, and John Singer Sargent. All three
created object paintings, while still using art information as their
vehicle. Sorolla used color in a different way than Sargent and Zorn
and his use of color created additional problems for edge modification.
Simply put, it's easier to transition neutral colors from one shape to
another, than it is to transition obvious color changes, such as warmer
color (red, orange, yellow) to cooler color (blue, violet). A warmer
color next to a cooler color will emphasize an edge, somewhat like a
light color next to a dark color will emphasize an edge. So a warmer
color next to a cooler color will always contain a visual separation
(or edge) even when the values are equal.
Because Sorolla's paintings are so color dependent, it is easy to
separate objects, or figures from ground. One could just take a pair of
scissors and cut all the pieces out. However, and this is important,
ask yourself why his paintings maintain unity and work as an
interesting visual whole?
El Pescador by Joaquin Sorolla 1904 mp file
El Pescador by Joaquin Sorolla 1904
Let's take a look at one of Sorolla's paintings to see how he used his
values, colors, and edges to create a realist painting with dimensional
form while still unifying the painting and creating plenty of visual
interest.
First of all, look at the whole and assess the big pieces, which are a
warmer figure with a cooler background. Notice how, in this painting,
the warmer color comes forward and the cooler colors recede.
(Important: This is not a rule. (See Breaking the rules and changing
the parameters of perception
.) Notice also, how the cooler colors of
the background are repeated in the figure. Sorolla included variations
of all the spectral colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and
violet. The painting is a rainbow of color while also portraying a
figure in sunlight carrying a basket by the ocean.
Squint to simplify the information and evaluate the value pattern. We
do not see color well when squinting, but Sorolla's paintings are so
colorful that even with squinting, it can be difficult to evaluate the
values. See below for a black and white image of the painting.
I've placed arrows on the painting highlighting some areas of value
similarity. In this painting, Sorolla primarily used value similarity
to soften an edge. For example, the back of the brim of the hat turns
into the water. The top part of the hat also has value similarity with
the water, but slightly stronger color difference. The top part of the
arm has a slight edge outline but still reads as a rounded form,
primarily because of the shadow on the arm and the variety of the
softened shadow edge. Note that the top of the arm is the same value as
the water, but here the color temperature difference between warmer and
cooler colors separates the arm and water. Compare this to the use of a
softened and lost-found edge on the basket where it meets the torso.
There is a color temperature difference here also, but the more subtle
color, slight color changes and softened edge bring these shapes
together. All these visual clues help give the figure dimensional form,
while still maintaining unity within the whole of the painting.
Image 3427263
Image 3427268
Sometimes it can be easier to see how a painter worked by taking
information out of context. Here I've put together pieces of
information from Sorolla's painting. The hat alone is a stunning
example of color, shape, and edge information. The images on the left
and the right are simply the outside edges of the painting - notice the
variety and the overall similarity. The torso and top of the basket are
examples of warmer and cooler colors, value control, and edges.
What is interesting about art and painting is that in order to
understand the whole, one needs to grasp the pieces, but understanding
the pieces is predicated on understanding the whole. I'm not sure how
to tell you to accomplish that, but I do know the more we look, the
more we see.
For more information:
The problem with edges
Why naming the "thing" can be a problem
Do your paintings look stiff?
Note: Not all my newsletters are posted on my website as blogs. You can
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