"A Bigger Picture"

($40.00...6" x 6"...Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Brokenness is part of a bigger picture." Visually, this quote is referring to the broken bits of color in the painting. In life, it is referring to the painful times that must come in order to have a richer, deeper life.

It takes quite a range of different color notes to create a successful painting. If all of the color notes are bright and joyful, there is no depth. The deep, less intense colors with a somber tone are also needed to create rich texture. 

This is a Split Complementary Color Scheme with the inclusion of a range of greens complemented by a range of oranges. There is also a range of purples that are not quite as noticeable, but they give the painting a lot of life. The trees, limbs, and rocks all have a dominant tint of "grayed" down purple. In fact, this tint was applied to the entire painting first so that I could use a sgraffito effect to carve out the trees, limbs, and quote. 

The one thing that gave me the passion to paint this piece was the division created by the trees, the position of the trees, and the diagonals created by the hillside, tree limbs, and also the paint strokes. It is so important to really connect with something in the plein air setting or the reference photo in order to put your total focus and heart into the creation.  In fact, it is wise to actually identify and name the particular thing that moves you emotionally in the image.  I never do my best work on an image or scene that I have a "ho hum" attitude towards. You probably won't either. So the big "take away" for today is to paint or create things you have a passion for. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.