International Artist – June-July 2019

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three value ranges, shapes maintain
color and viewers can distinguish
planes. Only accents would appear
close to black when seen in a grayscale.
I plan my paintings the way the
eye naturally perceives reality. The
painting’s perimeters are subdued,
impressionistic and blurry, lacking
detail. I pack visual interest, the
details and rich color somewhere in
the middle ground off center. I slow
down fast-moving lines with “melodic
lines” that resemble an uneven
staircase, and “graceful lines” that
carry the eye on a roller coaster ride,
such as over tree contours.
I ignore the reality of nature when the
shapes are symmetrical and the color
is boring. Rather, I use well designed,
asymmetrical, abstract symbols that
represent, for example, trees, rocks,
grass, with subtle color variegation.
These are the building blocks of a
successful painting.
Lake Moraine, oil, 20 x 24" (51 x 61 cm)
The alluring contours of the Rocky Mountains inspired me to paint this scene. I organized elements of the scene to lead the viewer’s eye into the painting, first
with the direction of the logs, and then zigzagging from one river bank to the opposite side and, finally, with snow patterns, to move the eye up the mountain.
I use quick-drying white in the color mixes so I can add additional paint layers in just a few hours. I made certain that subdivisions of the mountain cliffs were
asymmetrical. Finally, atmospheric perspective created several planes in the mountain range.