Redtree Times

I do a few paintings every year that have a boat riding the waves.  They’re simple compositions and are done mainly for my own self-satisfaction.  I really like working on simple constructs such as this because it’s such a wonderful challenge to create emotion and depth with only a few elements.  It forces one to focus on the more subtle aspects of the painting– the quality and depth of color, the delicate interaction of the compositional elements, the way the underlying texture creates tension and motion above, etc.

There are a lot of aspects that I consider when working on  a piece such as this but in many cases this evaluation of them takes but a glance, trying to get a sense of the rightness of each piece.  This something I’ve mentioned before and is something I struggle to explain.  It’s being able to look at something and weigh all the elements that comprise it and determine if they make sense in the eye and mind.  Is there balance, does one element overwhelm everything?  Does one line move organically into another?  Is there a sense of harmony in the colors and do they translate as natural to the eye?

This sense of rightness is especially important in a piece such as this, Glory Run, because so little must say so much and any flaw in the logic of the piece makes it fall apart.  But if all maintains this rightness the impact of the piece increases greatly.

I wish I could explain a bit better but I’ll just let the work do the talking for now…