http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistMay 2020 25
PRACTICAL
wonder then that humans are attracted
to pattern and make patterns, and
artists are no exception.
Seeing patterns
Visual artists tend to be ruled by
their eyes, so when a painter’s radar
is alerted to something it is often due
to an attractive or interesting pattern
in their view. The attraction might be
subconscious. The pattern could be a
physical thing like a pleasing balance of
light and shade, a satisfying repeat or
interval, or a commanding arrangement
of coloured shapes. Or it could be
something more philosophical,
an image redolent of isolation or
friendship, for example. To turn the
attraction into a painting, the artist
recognises the nature of the pattern and
chooses a set of painted tones, colours
and shapes to create an arrangement on
canvas or paper. Even if the inspiration
is a concept, the physical elements that
make the pattern visible still have to be
p Inbound, Elephants on the Mara,
Schmincke Horadam watercolour on
Saunders Waterford paper, 22 3 30in
(56 3 76cm).
If you enjoy observing the nuance of tone
around a form then the tonal arrangement
made by a herd of elephants on the move
makes the perfect subject! Furthermore, the
repeat pattern made by a line of oncoming
elephants is both a visual and emotive treat.
Each form, along with the interval between,
is repeated, but in differing sizes - huge
matriarchs to comparatively small babies – an
endearing and exciting visual pattern.
Colours used: Prussian blue, violet, burnt
sienna, yellow ochreaccounted for and employed in order
for a painting to materialise (above and
top of page 26).Subject matter
When it comes to painting, for me,
there is no difference in subject matter
between elephants ambling through
the African bush and figures parading
the urban sprawl. This is because my
subject matter – what excites me to
paint – is the pattern of the tones, the
shapes and the interval between those
shapes. Early in my artistic journey I
discovered that tone and shape were
the main attraction for my eyes. It
was the difference, whether slight or
grand, between light and the lack of
it, and how light enters or bounces off
things, and thus shapes things, that
drew my attention. Over the years,
through looking with a view to painting,
I have trained my eyes to notice tonal
patterns. I have amusing proof that my
training works when on occasion I drivestraight past the entrance to my studio
in Cape Town simply because I do not
recognise the particular play of light
and shade on the foliage at the gate!
The other day I even believed that
the ocean view below my studio had
spawned a new bay simply because I
read the roofline of a neighbour’s house
as the sea – it was the same coloured
tone and aligned perfectly with the
shoreline to create a semblance that my
eyes interpreted as a bay. The point is
this: I trust my eyes. So, in this instance‘When a painter’s radar is alerted to
something it is often due to an attractive
or interesting pattern’