Speaking of Art Blog

Little Queen, pastel, 14x11"

I thought I’d share how I go about thinking about the height/width format and overall look of a painting even before I pull out my chosen surface or start looking for colors to use.  Nowadays I use Adobe Photoshop to play with key elements and figure out where I’m going.  I try to keep my center of interest somewhere in the one-third area of the picture plane, either vertically or horizontally, not right smack in the middle.  But there’s also negative space to consider, and there isn’t one right answer for what to do with that negative space.  And then of course, the color scheme can be chosen from an infinite number of combinations.  So, I play on my computer.

In preparation for creating my newest painting, Little Queen, I started by cropping the original photo until all the unnecessary surroundings were eliminated and the butterfly was about 1/3 of the way down from the top of the picture plane.  Next, I punched the colors and lightened things up so that the whole scene wasn’t so dark.  Then I considered 2 different height/width formats, 12x12 and 12x9.  I liked them both.  BTW, I make sure to save each image along the way that I might want to ultimately use as my reference photo.

I decided I wanted to infuse the light/dark contrast between the butterfly and the background with a little more punch.  So, I added some variable shaped bands of white in the background.  Aha, that did the trick nicely.  Then I reshaped the height/width format once again and played around with saving less background altogether.  That’s when I finally landed on my chosen 14x11” reference photo.  The placement of the butterfly and unfolding fern look balanced in the whole space.  Yep, that’s the one.

Would any of those 3 other tweaked photos have worked?  Absolutely.  But that last image excited me.  I connected with it and it spoke most clearly of my goal for this piece in the first place – luscious colors, thoughtfully placed shapes in the picture plane, and dramatic light/dark contrast.  Now I knew what size paper to use and what colors to start looking for in my pastel collection.

Some artists do little drawings and color studies before they start a painting.  I use Photoshop in much the same way.  All are valid ways to get to where an artist wants to go.  It sure saves time in the long run, and working things out on my computer screen has become lots of fun for me.  I am mapping out my path.  Next, it’s finally time to pull on my hiking shoes and start my journey.  I know where I’m going as I head to my easel and I’m excited to get to my destination.  Yes, map making can be lots of fun and photo editing programs can be a big help.  If you, like me, are even just a little tech savvy, you might want to give photo editing a try.  But be sure to ponder where you are headed before you start making your map.