"Avoiding Monotony En Route"

St. Louis Central West End

Avoiding monotony en route is what Edgar Whitney used to insist upon.  A straight, uninterrupted line is boring and acts as a pointer.  Finding ways to disrupt that pathway is important.  It aids in forming more interesting shapes, and stopping the eye from travelling down a line with no variation.

You can see this in action on the rooflines of the buildings in this painting.  The shapes at the bottom of the buildings are also interrupted by the cast shadows.

Avoid monotony en route.  Look for ways to keep lines from becoming static.  If you have to, invent chimneys or other disruptions to keep the line from becoming boring.

Lacey Stuff

Rainy Day In Old Orchard Beach

The thing that attracted me in this scene was the lacey quality of the lampposts and telephone poles against the sky.  After I had the shapes of the buildings down, I painted the wet road and the reflection of the cars.  When everything was dry, it was time to put in the lampposts.  The top of the lamppost was rendered by holding the brush almost like a pencil.  The pole was created with a quick downward stroke.  I've found that the slower the stroke, the wavier the line.  Slow strokes seem to shout hesitation and timidity.  I know it's scary, but practice it on another piece of paper.  

The telephone poles on the right have a lacey look that I like.  I used a dry brush to keep them from looking too static.  Again, speed up the stroke.  

The textures of the dark poles against the quieter, simpler shapes of the buildings and the sky create a nice contrast.  The wet-in-wet softness of the reflections contrasts nicely with the sharper hard edged poles.

Keeping a Sketchbook

I came home from Florida with only four paintings, but with a lot of sketches.  Yesterday I was finally able to get back to the studio and paint.  It felt so good to feel the brush glide across the paper.

I've said it before:  your sketchbook is a kind of diary of ideas.  It's a roadmap to values and placement of shapes.  Once those two things are in place, you can be free to play with color rather than be a slave to the "real" colors.

Time Goes By

Sorry for the time lapse.  I was travelling back to Missouri from Florida and just as I got home, my computer broke.  Learning to operate this new one has been a challenge, but I think I've figured out most of what I used to access.

Anyway,  here's a sketch to tide you over while I get back to painting.  Another study in placing things on the thirds.

Switching Mediums

People sometimes ask if I've ever painted with oils.  A very long time ago I started out painting in oil.   I had some success with still lifes, but had a harder time with landscapes.  My main problem was trying to lighten values with white paint.  It always looked chalky and often never got light enough.

One day the art teacher at my school said, "Carol, your paintings are pretty good, but why don't you try watercolor?"  Those five words changed the course of my life.

The transition wasn't easy.  Controlling the water was my biggest problem.  Too much water on the page, and then too much more water in the brush and on the palette.  But I liked the way the brush slid across the page.  I had temper tantrums when things didn't go well.  One day, shortly after I purchased a very expensive sable brush, I got so angry that I smashed the ferrel of the brush half way across.  "That's okay.  I quit anyway."  Half an hour later I was back in the studio with some pliers to repair the damage.

I like the immediacy of watercolor.  I like the transparency and the layering.  I like charging color into an area and watching the resulting granulation.  I just feel more free with watercolor. 

But just for grins here are two of my early efforts in oil.