Shape, Value, Colour & Texture, Inc.

 Fire Brand (8x10) oil on linen

Of course Line and most importantly, Composition are part of the mix as well, but the 4 elements mentioned in the title are what these are about. The one above (Firebrand) was painted in the studio, and made up from images recorded at various locations in my sketchbook...

Gray Day (12x12) oil on linen

This one (Gray Day) was painted quickly on location on the central California coast with a limited palette. Although they are different subjects and painted under different conditions, both paintings are about shape, value, colour and texture...

Asymmetry Rules!

 "Library Creek" (9x12)

Nature is chaotic, yet there is "design"...I know, it's an oxymoron of sorts; creation exists within certain laws and conditions, but there seems to be little oversight from an artists perspective...and I like that.  I like asymmetry too. I also like random patterns (another slight contradiction in terms) where your eye can wander throughout a scene of similar yet slightly different directional shapes, find interest and still have a way of escape...

"Oblique Floaters" (6x8)

A lot of times, painters are concerned with a focal point -- this is good, but it's not the entire goal of a good composition. The best landscapes have a focal point, or maybe even two or more that are arranged in a hierarchical manner with one being dominant. However, I have found it beneficial to also balance those areas with passages of respite along with an exit strategy. 

Troubling compositions are those whose focal point ends in a cul-de-sac, trapping the viewer.  Better compositions have a balance of action (or focus), tranquility and a clear exit (a lead-in/ lead-out pathway). This can often be accomplished with a large mass of little detail that borders one side the picture plane. Asymmetry (an unbalanced divide of proportions or information) can often create this as a bi-product via an interesting visual arrangement of shapes. 

As children, we often start out drawing pictures that are symmetrically balanced (for comfort and security I suppose) but shaking things up a bit by shoving everything to one side or the other can be a lot of fun too...

As Ed "Big Daddy" Roth once said, "Asymmetry Rules!"