Tuesday, March 1, 2011

designing space and concept

7x7 pastel on paper
The idea of adding an animal to the landscape changes the whole design. The human eye will always gravitate to a figure or animal. I think it will continue to challenge me throughout the painting.
As I continue to read about George Inness's ideas I am especially intrigued by his theory of the division of space and placement of figures.  Inness broke the rules and made his own. After 1878 he regularly raised the horizon line and divided the pictorial space in half- half sky, half land. I tried that division here. It's a challenge. I altered the format to a square and decided to hide the sun inside the trees (left.)
The feeling in this study is very different. It's much more intimate, less space. I added two deer instead of one. I was aiming for the idea of living in harmony.

9 comments:

SamArtDog said...

Animals in the landscape? Great minds think alike.

loriann signori said...

Hi Sam, We will see. I am eager to try!

Sonya Johnson said...

I really like this, Loriann. And, the fact that I didn't notice the horizon was cut in half means it isn't a compositional issue (besides, rules were meant to be broken).

Another nice thing about adding animals to a landscape is that they immediately give a sense of scale of surrounding objects (like trees) which sometimes isn't otherwise apparent. I have added them to a few paintings and it was fun!

Nika said...

This composition is spot-on, Loriann. Very well designed and beautiful. Sonya is so right about the scale, the landscape takes on a slightly different meaning with a figure or an animal in it. I was reading a bit about Inness from the Tonalist book just last night, I can relate to his madness.

Double "D" said...

Beautiful pastel. Very pastoral and serene.
It's still going to take me some time to get used to the space divided in half. I probably too close to where I used to be. I know Doug, just let it go and start breaking all the rules. You do it so nicely and innocent
like. Hope you're feeling better each day.
Take good care,
pb

Art Matters said...

It doesn't matter much about the halfway division because the balance of dark and light works very well. Lovely atmospheric mood. ..

Donna T said...

This does feel like a very well balanced division of space. I wonder if the presence of water and reflections helps to merge the two halves? I can't wait to see this painting develop!

loriann signori said...

Hi Sonya and thank you! Rules are meant to be broken and don't we love trying? I will be sure to check out your paintings with animals. I can't wait till my new boards arrive!

Hi Nika,
It sure is fun to read Inness. Not many artists have been so open about his ideas in print. Between his writing and his son's writings about Inness there's a lot to look at! Don't you love that Tonalist book?

Hi PB,
Thank you about my pastel value study. I can understand why my rule breaking could worry you. Rules are there for reasons...some of us just can't resist playing this them. I followed good company on this one! And thank you for the well wishes. i think I have turned a corner and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Yay!

Hi Carol!
Good point, that's what made it work! Inness was much bolder. thanks about the mood!

Hi Donna!
You are so right I "got away" with it because of the reflections and the breaking of land space. Another time I will try to do it like Inness does with just land and sky...now that's BOLD! I can't wait to get my boards for these paintings. More later! How is your house sale going?

Donna T said...

We are back on the market as of today after much updating. Hopefully there will be a sale this time - and a new studio somewhere for me!