Throughout the history of art artists have been fascinated with the different shades of what they see the image they want to paint.
To look at an object and record it on canvas as normally seen by the lay person is a lie. The way the trained eye sees color is simply different from how the untrained eye sees the same color.
To illustrate this difference consider two artists, a master and an apprentice, walking to a wooded location to paint. The scene before them provides an endless number of subjects for them to pursue, the apprentice looks around and finds so much to paint in those woods that he will soon have sweaty hands and begin to stutter and mumble new sounds as he speaks to his easel. Emotions transfix the young artist who tries to recall past lessons and technical rules from art school days. Sadly, the results are a blast of abstract colors going in every direction. There is no unity, no balance, and most of all no changes in values.
But the master artist will take in all that nature has in this majestic scene, maybe move a little to the left or right, considering the different angles of the terrain. And then all at once “IT” is there in full view, the accumulation of emotions and inspiration that come from that perfect moment that combines scene, experience and the well trained eye. It is an eye that has learned to see a balance of values and movement as well as color.
The master artist will set-up the easel, arrange the brushes and canvas all while keeping the angle of view and the scene that brought the inspiration. The master eyes look carefully just before they...squint!
The word “see” does not mean visual correctness; this never did produce a work of art. A camera photo is a perfect rendering of the physical fact before it. The camera does not “feel” anything and will record all objects before it the same in an almost robotically perfect reproduction. This is where I would like to introduce my Artist Statement. It supports the idea of how artists’ of my style views their subjects to paint.
“I believe that a painting is not just an illusion in two dimensions, but it is also a moment in life, captured on canvas. Painting is a language varying in mood and atmosphere that reflects the diversities of life itself. I enjoy the challenges of various subjects as much as possible; not only through those choices, but also through how I elect to portray those subjects. Allowing the viewer to interpret and finish parts of the painting is more interesting than if the painting is totally spelled out for them. I want the viewer to see the use of the medium, the end of the brush stroke, the spontaneity, the freshness of a new painting. If I can give the viewer an impression of the atmosphere, a sense of light and deep shadows, if I can just open their eyes to the simple beauty around us, then I have accomplished a great deal”
As the master artist views a subject with eyes half closed, the squint, they filter out all detail that’s distracting the main interest. This alters vision to give a sense of deep shadows and various values that’s needed to create a work of art.
As I tell my students, “there’s no lines in what you see, only thin values next to another value, so squint to see it!”
Unlike the camera, the interpretation an artist renders paintings by how the eyes see and how the artist feels about the subject. This is the unteachable part of all visual art, it is the art of emotions, feelings and how to see as you squint.
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