Speaking of Art Blog

Monarch Memo, pastel, 12x9"

This is my newest pastel.  Here is what the 38 words at the top say.

You know the saying that a picture is worth 1,000 words?  Well, I wanted to try something different by incorporating printed words in a painting for the first time.  Artists are starting to include all kinds of things containing words in their 2-D artwork - bits of newspaper, old greeting cards, ticket stubs, menus, you name it, things with words.  I find it fascinating.

We are bombarded daily with written information – words – coming at us from all angles. Some of it is truth, facts, while some of it is fantasy, lies, nonsense.  What struck me, though, when I contemplated creating this painting, is that I know so much about the Monarch butterfly and its behavior because many scientists who have studied the Monarch have written down their findings with words and numbers and have kept careful records of the Monarch’s migration habits.  As one of my science professors in college once said, “We are all standing on the shoulders of giants when we learn from those who have recorded their findings and have shared them with the world.”  With printed words.

So, this time I want to go beyond the 1,000 words that my painting is supposed to imply. I want to tell a snippet of science’s story of the truly miraculous migration behavior of this gorgeous tiny creature that looks stunning when seen in real life.  The reason I want to include these 38 words is because this fact filled paragraph is worth telling, worth marveling at, worth repeating.

Perhaps someone will read my words and they will want to plant some Monarch friendly flowering plants in their garden. Perhaps someone will want to get involved with raising and releasing Monarchs back into the wild.  Perhaps someone might be determined to frequent and support butterfly friendly habitats in their area, like at a national park.  I really hope so, because Monarch butterflies and all butterflies are worth protecting.  Butterflies may look fragile, but they are tenacious creatures as some of them migrate during their short lifetime for thousands of miles. They need our respect and support to continue to survive and thrive.  Hopefully, my 1,038 words will help to inform the public.

Indigo Bunting, pastel, 12x12"

This is my newest painting, of a gorgeous Indigo Bunting that happened to land on a branch in our woods this spring.  Lucky me, I had my camera close by and was able to shoot 5 pics of it before it took off to unknown places.

What goes on in my head before I start a painting such as this?  Bottom line, a lot.  Here are some key points:

Choose which reference photo to use: All 5 pics were decent, but the first one stood out mainly because of the shadow from its head falling on its back instead of its front. The reason I prefer that is because the noticeable dark shadow behind its head helps to give the bird’s body more 3-dimensionality.  So, I decided to use the first pic as my reference.

Crop the reference photo: With Adobe Photoshop I messed around with 2 formats, 14x11” and 12x12”. While they both work, I liked the 12x12 a bit more because it wasn’t quite so cluttered with leaves. When I work on this step I keep in mind where my center of interest will fall.  I try not to put it right smack in the middle.  While the bird is more centered in the 12x12 format than in the 14x11, I noticed that the bird’s head, which is where the greatest light/dark contrast hits, is NOT dead center.  So, I decided its placement will work.

Tweak the dark background shapes: Those large dark fuzzy-edged background shapes in the middle and lower left needed to be addressed. They were a distraction in the reference photo. Should I just make them even fuzzier and keep them that dark?  Answer – no.  Well, then if I eliminate them, how much lighter should my background be and should I suggest shapes back there at all? I pulled out my sketch pad and sketched a mini thumbnail of the whole scene.  I left the middle background all one mid-value shape.  I liked it much better.  It eliminated the distraction back there.  I’m also including a tweaked image here of the same thing that could be done using Adobe Photoshop instead of a sketch.  Either way works for pre-analysis.

Overall composition: This step is pretty much intuitive for me and a lot of it happens before I start my painting. Right away when I looked at my chosen reference photo, I noticed that the leaves around the edges and that one arched white branch above the bird’s head serve as a beautifully implied circle around the center of interest (blue line). I also noticed very quickly that the 2 large white branches in the lower quadrants are arrows pointing at the center of interest (yellow lines).  I noticed that the head, which is the focal point, contrasted the most dramatically against the white background.  Perfect, that’s where I want my viewer to linger.  Lastly, I noticed that the dark wing feather markings helped to complete the unseen part of the branch that is behind the bird, connecting it to the piece of branch above the bird’s head (pink circles).  I kept all of those compositional tricks in mind as I accentuated certain features and lessened others while I created the painting.

Choose colors: I usually study a color wheel and choose a color scheme before I start my painting. I don’t always stick religiously to that set of colors, but with a color scheme in mind I’m also not tempted to use every color of the rainbow and make every painting look like a rainbow.  For this painting I kept with a limited palette of blue-violet, yellow-green, and some little touches of red-orange.  What I love about this limited palette that is heavy into the blues is that it evokes an overall quiet peaceful mood which I was not expecting.  I love it! 

Yes, that’s a lot of analysis beforehand, but in the long run it saves me time and art supplies.  I’m a plan ahead-er, always have been, so this suits me.  I like to know where I’m going.  Otherwise, how will I know if/when I have arrived at my destination?  Do I change my mind along the way sometimes?  Of course, but usually not in a major way.  Major changes happen even before I choose my pastel paper and start my sketch. 

I like to think that this Indigo Bunting appreciated my forethought that went into the environment I created for it on my paper.  You’re welcome, you stunning bird, you deserve all the attention.