> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ MARCH 2020[ 88 ]
Let’s talk about the art of critique, but not as a way to
impress your friends. Instead, let’s think about how critique
can be a valuable tool for the artist. The underlying concept
at play is that when you start naming and describing things,
you see them more often and they begin to influence you.
The reason it’s important for an artist to critique other works
is to gain more control over the translation from feeling to
thought to creating art. With this control, you can make
more conscious choices over your own work.
The process of critique starts with vocabulary, and fortu-
nately, you’re probably equipped with everything you need
to know in terms of words and ideas. The trick is to pick
just a few and focus on those, starting with the simple, and
building to the complex; we just need some building blocks.
For this article, let’s choose the
following (for no real reason):- Balance
- Weight
- Contrast
There’s no accepted stan-
dard for defining these words
explicitly in the context of art.
They’re really nothing more
than ideas, but they’re useful
for describing most features
of visual art. Within each of
these ideas are layers of addi-
tional concepts and related
terms. In fact, these ideas
are built from other ideas,
and their application is com-
pletely subjective.
MARKING UP IMAGES
Consider A Storm by Georgia O’Keeffe, a pastel she cre-
ated in 1922. Using your own personal understanding of
each of those three terms, how do you think they apply to
this work? Is there balance between left and right, top and
bottom? What elements do you consider to have weight?
Which parts show more or less contrast? How do you think
your interpretation of these words might differ from some-
one else’s?
To get the ideas to settle into your mind, find a copy of
A Storm or other work online and open it in Photoshop,
then create a layer specifically for marking up the image.
Take a few minutes to really think about each of the terms
individually. Put aside whether you like the piece or not, orSCOT TVALENTINE
Photoshop Proving Ground
If you read this column on a regular basis, you know I like to say: “Never let your tools get in the way of
your art.” (If you haven’t heard me say that before, you have now.) If you’ve ever taken a self-defense
course, watched an underdog hero movie, or had a class with Father Cronin, you know that the single
best tool you have is your mind. Since “Photoshop Proving Ground” is all about tools, we shouldn’t
neglect the most important one, should we? Anyway, I have a point to make: Never let your mind
get in the way of your art.CRITIQUE AS A LEARNING TOOL
A Storm by Georgia O’Keeffe, 1922