Addition/Subtraction

Motif #1 @ Pratt's Island

This is another iconic subject that artists on the Boothbay peninsula often paint-- so often that we refer to it as the Motif #1 of the area.  It was even the subject of the advertising postcard for an exhibit of my paintings at a local gallery.

This time, however, I took many liberties with the old standby.  I eliminated a building on the left, thinking that if it were included, it would put more weight and emphasis on that side of  the painting than I wanted.  Also, in reality, the treeline is much higher.  I lowered it so the background wouldn't claim so much attention.  The transition to the sky area also lessened the importance of a larger, dark background shape.  The value contrast stayed near the focal point building as well.

Next, the additions.  Once I determined those two shapes, it became apparent that they needed to be broken up by something. Since I already had the pilings in the foreground, I decided to repeat the verticals in the background.  The logical placement of those verticals was directly over the building in the focal area, thus acting as pointers.  For the same reason, I moved the ladder so that it, too, would point to the little building.

Other additions:  The white rock in the foreground and the pilings that emerge from it were put there to create a white shape that breaks up the horizontal shoreline, and lets the piling lead up to the white of the building on the far left.  Imagine the dark reflections extending to the left edge of the page and you'll see that the shape of the water would have been a dark, uninteresting rectangle.  That oblique line also echoes the oblique line of the buildings, a repetition that was needed to contrast with the dominant horizontals and verticals.

This is a rather lengthy explanation of the components of this composition.  But I want my readers to know that what appears to be a random placement of the elements of the painting was really a series of deliberate decisions.  

Bottom line:  Don't always be tied to the realities of the scene.  Add, subtract and do everything you can to come in aid of the area you find most attractive.