The art museums and architecture in culture rich cities such as New York City, Paris, London, Leningrad, Istanbul, and Lisbon to mention a few, plus a one year scholarship to study art in Japan and a one year sabbatical to study architecture and art for the purpose of creating an art history resource for my teaching endeavors for the Oak Harbor School District, have all enriched my work as an artist.
All this mixed in with my MFA studies at WSU have provided the tools I use to create my own fine art regardless of the medium. The visual arts are so much more than simply picking up a brush or chisel. For all well made art, the foundation for creating enduring work requires a solid understanding of composition and design. Without it, the work may survive as a statement, but it is unlikely to have the enduring impact of a well composed work of art. Whether my subject matter is a non-representational painting, a botanical rendering or if it is sculpture, the essence of the work is in its composition.
For example, most of my botanicals are from real life. They are carefully arranged in a vase (the flowers are kept in the refrigerator between painting sessions for 4-5 days). The museum board is prepared with gesso using a small roller, which leaves a finely textured surface. A lightly drawn pencil line frames the area for the painting. Upon drying, it is lightly sanded to leave very fine "pores".
It is from this point that the compositional elements become primary to the process. The negative spaces between the leaves, the stems, the vase, the bloom, the edge of the frame are all carefully laid out with acrylics, no pencil. The layered pigments are added and then partially removed. The pores hold on to some of the color. The next layer with another color is added and removed, then another and another until as many as 15 thin coats have been added. This provides "depth" and richness. Critical to the design is being deliberate in the choices made while being prepared to incorporate the more spontaneous elements of the process. The way lines vary, the way shapes relate to each other, the overall location inside the frame, and the use of value in the color gradients all add to the success of the composition.
All this mixed in with my MFA studies at WSU have provided the tools I use to create my own fine art regardless of the medium. The visual arts are so much more than simply picking up a brush or chisel. For all well made art, the foundation for creating enduring work requires a solid understanding of composition and design. Without it, the work may survive as a statement, but it is unlikely to have the enduring impact of a well composed work of art. Whether my subject matter is a non-representational painting, a botanical rendering or if it is sculpture, the essence of the work is in its composition.
For example, most of my botanicals are from real life. They are carefully arranged in a vase (the flowers are kept in the refrigerator between painting sessions for 4-5 days). The museum board is prepared with gesso using a small roller, which leaves a finely textured surface. A lightly drawn pencil line frames the area for the painting. Upon drying, it is lightly sanded to leave very fine "pores".
It is from this point that the compositional elements become primary to the process. The negative spaces between the leaves, the stems, the vase, the bloom, the edge of the frame are all carefully laid out with acrylics, no pencil. The layered pigments are added and then partially removed. The pores hold on to some of the color. The next layer with another color is added and removed, then another and another until as many as 15 thin coats have been added. This provides "depth" and richness. Critical to the design is being deliberate in the choices made while being prepared to incorporate the more spontaneous elements of the process. The way lines vary, the way shapes relate to each other, the overall location inside the frame, and the use of value in the color gradients all add to the success of the composition.
Wood Hyacinth, above, and below, Ethereal1 by Richard Nash
