Thursday, February 7, 2013

distilling, Japanese woodcuts, and changing your thinking

6x6 pastel
Oiso- Hiroshige
The hardest thing to do is to distill the landscape down to the elements that are most important. My movement towards a new interpretation of the landscape constantly challenges my habitual ways of looking and creating. It involves some trust to tear me away from my normal ways of working. The first big change is working in the studio rather than outdoors. I often get stymied and frustrated. Recently I find myself turning to the Japanese masters, especially Hiroshige.
So I will share with you my research and realizations. It's ironic how my road paintings are my vehicle to move in this direction. (heehee)

Kambara-Hiroshige
 During the later part of the 18th century the European artists were heavily influenced by the Japanese woodcuts.
The Japanese introduced a whole different way of looking at composition. Some of their devices were:
*the extreme vertical
*truncation  of major parts
*use of large empty space
*very high or very low viewpoints
 *a many paneled painting (while this was not new -think Giotto, Piero della Francesca or the Ghent altarpiece by the van Eycks)

In my next post I will talk more about these and the whys.  Till then....


7 comments:

Lisa Le Quelenec said...

Exciting times, it's interesting to see the series unfold and develop. I enjoy that aspect of your blog very much. Looking forward to the next post.

Double "D" said...

You continue to evolve into further greatness, or you're hot today B. Love where your headed.
PB.

loriann signori said...

Thank you Lisa for your thoughtful comment. We all just keep moving forward, eh?

Hey PB!!!!!! Where HAVE you been! I missed you!

Eden Compton Studio said...

Great post Lori! Love the new work. I'm also a big Hiroshige fan!

Liz Steinglass said...

I keep a tiny book of Hiroshige by my bed...love the car lights.

loriann signori said...

Thanks Eden.

Hi Liz!
I too have a tiny book about Hiroshige. In it each small print has a poem next to it. The book is cloth bound and goes inside a case. Is that the one you have?

Liz Steinglass said...

Mine just has pictures. I'd love to see the poems.