Artists, Don’t Capture but Create

Artists don’t capture, but create.  

Painting on location is one of the most difficult forms of art there is, and that said, it is also the most pleasing activities known to an artist. In the painting “Spring in Edgewood”, I captured a location on canvas that would have been overlooked into a painting of the movement of light and shadow creating a quaint little masterpiece.

One of the most important skills of an artist, especially a plein air artist, is to be able to present, in a beautiful manner, a location which may have no beauty or personality in itself. This can be accomplished best by following the laws of balance and proportion in space division, color, value and light.

In “Spring in Edgewood,” I was working with a subject that did not leap out and say “paint me.” In fact, the shed was hidden by vines and an old oak tree. John Singer Sargent knew that any location would be a good subject for a painting and it was up to the artist to make it so.

A good painter knows that everything in a painting must be related, and that harmony depends on the relative proportion of four different elements – color, value, space, and the light that presents itself. How you, the artist, creates the painting makes it worthy of your signature. Painting what you see is important but you must know what you are looking for and looking at.

By using brushstrokes, value, edges and detail elements like sticks and trees, the artist effectively conveys a sense of movement to the viewer, taking an otherwise boring subject and making it interesting.

An artist creates a work of art; cameras capture it. It is not up to the artist to capture but create.

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Announcing: “The Grand View, Observations of Art and Living” eBook has recently been re-edited and is available to download. The revised book is reformatted and has over 40 new paintings and chapters for your enjoyment. You can download this new edition for free…… yes for free! To have your own copy, go to www.thegrandview.org and click on free tips to find the offer for my free eBook.

I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to Kris Baxter for her dedication and willingness to creatively edit and reformat this new edition of the Grand View eBook as well as gratefully thanking Gita Hazrati, Darla Freeman, and Hannah West for their generous help with formatting and uploading this project so that it is available for everyone to read.

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