paintingconveysa feelingofspeed
andweather,timeandplace.
A locomotivethundersovera viaduct
inlightrainandrakingsunlight.
Whilethepictureis veryambiguous,
Turner’sselectivityofsignificant
formsis masterly.Archesdefinethe
formofthebridge,lineshintata
railwaytrackanda funneldefines
theformofa train.A smallvignette
ortwocharacterisesthesurrounding
countryside,butotherwiseeverything
elseis beautifullyambiguous.ABOVEJMWTurner,
Rain,Steam,and
SpeedTheGreat
WesternRailway,
oiloncanvas,
91x121.8cm
A fewsignificant
formsallow
therestofthe
paintingtoremain
ambiguousLEFTMartin
Kinnear,Walled
Garden, oilon
canvas,122x91cm
Closeinterest
helpedcapturethe
feelofmywalled
gardeninhigh
summerSelectivity is the key to suggestion,
yet a half-glimpsed detail or two can
help things hugely in this respect.
Here the Old Masters learned to
make small changes in opacity or
value to suggest forms which were
there but not fully observed. This
relies of course on first creating
masses upon which significant forms
can be placed and within which small
opacity, value or temperature changes
may be made to imply detail (see my
previous articles). Look closely atRain, Steam, and Speed – The Great
Western Railway, for instance, and
you can see how Turner simply
scratched into the mass of his train
to suggest the wheels and these
anchoring details allowed him to
embrace serendipity elsewhere.
To get the general forms right,
make sure that the significant
element that defines each of them
is prominent and add lots of subtle
visual complexity to make up the rest.
Once you are on board with this
general concept, it’s easy to see how
a textured ground would be handy to
help one suggest complexity or how
a randomising tool such as a palette
knife can be far more useful than a
fine brush in this process.
In terms of suggesting details
the worst-case scenario is to use a
closely observed or photographically
accurate reference to create a
sight-sized image using the colours
you observe on a fine weave portrait
canvas using small brushes. Every
step you take away from that should,
in theory, be a step the right direction.
Martin is course director of the Norfolk
Painting School. His artwork is on display
from 26 March to 14 April at Tennants
Auctioneers, Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
http://www.norfolkpaintingschool.comNATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON