| I have always been
a fan of the Impressionist movement. Even before I knew it had a
name, I liked the way the splashes of color on canvas or paper, drew together
and became a wonderful scene full of light and life. I studied the
European style of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne and Cassatt. And
(more recently) the Hudson River School: Cole, Irvine, Davis, Durand
and Kensett. Rose, Wendt, Redmond and Bischoff, the California
Impressionists of the early 20th century, now have my attention.
How intriguing it is to see how much can be conveyed with so little (apparent)
effort. It is fascinating to observe the luminous glow in the rich
variety of yellows, reds, and oranges; the warmth in the shadows of blues,
greens, purples and browns.
"The California Impressionists
of the early 20th century now have my attention"
Impressionism is just that; an impression
the artist sees and conveys to the viewer. The human mind does not
normally conceive of all that the eye sees with exact clarity of everything
in the viewing range. For example, you focus your sight on the tree
in the field and the hills in the background soften to a gentle blur.
When you look off to the mountain beyond, the meadow and stream before
you become a jumble of pleasant colors. You receive an impression
of the scene. The artist's job is to unify those two conditions to
create a pleasing painting without burdening the viewer with all the extraneous
minutiae. Hence, Impressionism. To relay the impression the
arist believes you would see in an instant's glance, a frozen moment in
time, is, as it were, the mission. |
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One of my first instructors
was William F. Reese. He taught me to paint loosely and with large
brushfuls of paint. He was excited about color. I was excited
about color. I learned to successfully integrate warm and cool areas,
hard and soft edges, and lights and darks to meld into perfect harmony
with mid-range values. This basic training has never failed me.
When I start a painting, I arrange the composition keeping those standards
in mind. Applying the paint, I strive to accent the darks with highlights
at the center of interest, applying soft flows as well as crisp edges throughout
the painting. When warms and cools are laid next to each other the
colors sing! Color! Oh, the color! Bold and daring, deep
and mysterious or vivid and glowing, color entices me.
"When warms and cools are laid
next to each other the colors sing!"
The secret is to not get tied up with particulars. If I think
the brush I am using is just the right size, I'll put it away and get one
that is larger. That will force me to be more economical in my application
of paint, eliminating unnecessary lines and detail. Another
acknowledged aspect of an impressionist painting is the bold use of unexpected
color. For example, a red barn may have blue and purple even
green or gold in the shadows with pink and hot orange in the sunlight.
A sky may be yellow; a stream lavendar.
The leaves on a tree can be red or blue. When used in an artful way,
the use of brilliant strong complementary colors can combine into a meaningful
expression that is as valid as any "natural" interpretation.
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