Value always does the work

The master Jean-Francois Millet wrote in a letter, "If a sketch seen in the dim half light at the end of the day has the requisite balance- ponderation- it is a picture: if not, no clever arrangement of color, no skill in drawing our elaborate finish, can ever make our a picture."
That said- as one surfs the slippery tide of color vibration one can easily get lost. My solution is to also spent time making large value pastels. It's one of those catch 22s. The abstract of the painting is always the mos important..if that doesn't work it will never work. We want to be free to answer to the painting rather than impose the "scene." Therefore I make these and then put them aside.

Sedona Apricot Copse

I found another infatuation when I was in Sedona this year. I still think about it. It was a small grouping of trees that had an apricot gold color.  To make it even better they were in a field of long naples yellow grasses. My heart was on fire!!!!!

While the paintings from that trip have already found their forever homes, I look at the photos I took of them and dream of new ideas. I thought I would share a couple of my favorites. Be on the look out you may see more new works soon.

See a painting develop, step by step

People are curious. And we as artists like to see how it is done. That's a long way of saying that  I have been asked to share a step by step process of one of my plein air paintings. The other day when I was out painting I finally remembered to take a couple of photos along the way. So here we go.

Watercolor wash on Pastel Mat paper. Big shapes without clear edges- that's very important. I like to choose where my edges are later on in the painting. A sharp edge  within soft edges is a focal point.

Add pastel incrementally starting with your diva point.

Almost done. When I check back to my notan I see that a grouping of value masses has been disturbed. I alter that and finish. (see top)

notan and feeling

The camera does not give you what is important. How do you feel about the color. Let the notan set you free. What about that scene intrigues you. That and the notan will tell you what to do.

seduction and the notan

Here is another notan and painting.
Don't get seduced by subject matter. The notan helps with this. It helps you find balance between darks and lights. It makes you change things that are there in order to find the balance. It helps you find the rhythm and the strength in that rhythm.
it helps you find the right shapes and that make your painting more powerful.

the power of a notan/ light your painting on fire

Want to light your painting on fire?
 I am going to give you a tip- notan. Yes, I have been taught to do notans for a long time. (And you probably have too.) I have done them in a perfunctory manner, never really getting their full worth. The lightbulb finally turned on last week.
Let me step back a moment....   Once again I traveled to Washington State to paint. I am fortunate to spend a week painting with Richard McKinley each year. He is truly the best teacher/mentor I know. I feel as if it is my check-up with the doctor. I work as his coordinator/assistant. I get to paint each day, hang out with my friends and absorb his wisdom.
This year I (finally) understood the real reason for doing the notan.

Notan is the Japanese word that translates to mean- light and dark harmony. It refers to the arrangement of light and dark that serves as the foundation for composition. With a notan you find the essence of your painting in the design.

To explain, when I began I did a small pencil sketch (top sketch). That complete, I found the major design lines and then made two more sketches with just the lines. Next, on the middle sketch you see I translated the sketch into 4 values -white, medium gray, and small places of darkest dark. (I did an extra one on the side of that) On the bottom sketch I combined the two darkest values and made the design against the white. When I moved to the bottom sketch I saw the need to change some of the placement. Notan makes you look carefully at "what is important? "How do I make my rhythm within the colors and shapes?"

Doing this small addition to your painting set up can change your world!

In the painting above notice how the notan allowed me to alter color so easily. Once you know your value design you can make the painting work, even when you create major changes. This scene was all green.
Let the notan be your guide.

I will post a few of the paintings and their notans for the next few days and you will see what I mean.

Copse of trees

In Sedona my host and I were talking about the word "copse" which means a small group of trees. That word tumbled around in my head that sleepless night. It generated an image, this image. I only had to go paint it....which I did the next day. It's large for a pastel done on site-  12x24 (for me). The hardest part was that it was an oblong and I really prefer squares. The frame was ready but I procrastinated using that piece of paper till the last possible moment.
The sick part was, I purposely chose to put the main focal point right in the middle. That choice challenged my ability to make fluid movement throughout the piece.
To frame it I floated it n a piece of black board, which you see a sliver of on the right side.
A friend of mine emailed me to say her friend posted this photo on FB Tuesday. She asked...Is that you? And yes..it is. Taken by a drive by photographer.