The Oil Painter's Bible - chapter 5
exclusively, at least in the distance and middle ground, following the principle, by adding white, and
sometimes blue, increasing the white (and blue) to indicate greater distance, softening edges by working
wet paint into wet paint, suppressing detail and diminishing contrast between light and shadow to indicate
greater distance. The effect can also be gotten, perhaps slightly more convincingly, in a two-stage process
whereby the same procedure is used as in the one-step method except that the area of greatest distance is
rendered very slightly darker than the desired final effect. The illusion is completed in the second step by
scumbling a thin film of white or light grey over the dried paint of the first step in the areas of the greatest
distance. The illusion of depth can be further enhanced by painting the deepest foreground shadows, and
only these foreground shadows, in transparent glazes over a relatively lighter underpainting or primer.
This creates the highest degree of clarity, as would be the case when the least amount of atmosphere is
present between the shadow and the viewer's eye, appropriate for the immediate foreground only. The
combined, systematic use of glazing, scumbling, and opaque painting allows the painter to create the
illusion of depth to the highest degree possible. However, the successful rendering of spatial recession
depends even more heavily on observance of the principles of geometric and atmospheric perspective than
it does on expert paint handling.
SELECTIVE FOCUS
There is a third principle to be observed when creating the illusion of reality, which is closely aligned
with atmospheric perspective. This is the Principle of Selective Focus. It is the phenomenon whereby our
eyes, directed by the brain, register the highest attention to detail on whatever we consider most important
within our cone of vision. Please note that this process is unique to the natural viewing apparatus. A
camera does not operate in the same way. The specific differences will be discussed at length in the
chapter on photography. In designing our painting, we must simplify the shapes of lesser importance and
render them in softer focus than the areas of primary importance. Hard edges should be used sparingly,
and for specific reasons. The use of too many sharp edges destroys the illusion of reality, as it does not
correspond to visual experience. Our eyes cannot focus on more than one small area at a time. Everything
else appears duller and less distinct. By following this principle, the artist can assign greater importance to
key elements in the picture by rendering them in sharper focus and adding more detail, and can arrange
things in such a way as to lead the eye from point to point, including areas of secondary and tertiary
interest, if desired, to hold the viewer's attention for as long as possible. Areas of secondary and tertiary
importance may also be rendered in sharp focus, but must be made less noticeable than the primary
subject by their positioning on the picture plane and by arranging things in such a way as to have less
contrast of values, lower chroma colors, or whatever other means will render them less noticeable at a
distance. Orchestrated in this way, they do not compete with the area of primary importance for the
viewer's attention. The main focal point is emphasized not only by sharper focus, but by greater contrast
of light and dark, by higher chroma color, perhaps by its juxtaposition with contrasting hue accents, and
especially by its strategic placement on the canvas. Other elements in the picture may also point toward it.
Thus are the elements of secondary and tertiary interest rendered subordinate, even though they may be
rendered in sharp focus in certain instances. Their effectiveness, however, depends on softer focus being
used over most of the picture. If one had to choose between painting everything sharp, or everything soft,
the soft option would allow for a more convincing illusion of reality. We all, at times, see everything in
soft focus, as it takes a certain amount of effort and direction from the brain to focus the eyes on anything.
It is not possible, however, to see everything in sharp focus at once; thus, a view painted in such a way
clashes with our experiences in viewing the real world. It is easy to fall into the trap of painting this way,
for as we move our focus from what we have just painted to what we will paint next, each element
appears to us in sharp focus. The temptation to paint it as sharply as we see it when focusing on it is very
strong, but must be resisted, or we violate the Principle of Selective Focus, and the illusion of reality of
the overall scene will be compromised for the sake of superfluous detail. It is helpful to squint when
observing these elements, thereby throwing the eye somewhat out of focus, and then paint them as they
appear when squinting. If the painting requires a sharper focus on certain parts of the scene, it is still
advisable to begin by squinting, in order to read the larger, more general shapes, and then add whatever
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