Composition – Page 2 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Doing Lines

The visual is a primary part of our lives. Eyesight, unless you have a serious problem, is taken for granted. However, looking and seeing may be two very different things.

When we look, it is an objective experience. Our eyes take in, the nerves process, our bodies and minds react. Maybe we duck. Maybe we recognize. Looking, to me, is a function of existence, and probably an essential function evolved for safety and protection.

To see is a subjective experience. Seeing is taking the act of looking to a deeper level. This is where we may interpret a facial expression. We may delve deeper into an object, moving in close to gaze on minute detail, or move back to take in a wider vantage point. Whatever we do to see, we do to experience on a personal level, from whatever motivates us to go beyond the cursory glance.

For myself, it is the simpler things I find most attractive. While I enjoy and admire an artist’s ability to capture detail, to create reality in painting, I find myself drawn to an impression of something, a piece of something, When I paint or draw, I might work to capture an object, but I am not interested in infinitesimal detail but the spirit or energy of something. There is beauty in a solid object, a single stone, the curve of a tree branch, or the metallic grill of a car. A blurred facial expression captures the essence of our mortality. This part becomes greater than the whole and is representative of the whole – the shape, the form, the gestalt.

For the past several months, I have moved away from painting and into photography. At times, I find photography a rather cold process, simply because of the lack of a brush, and the follow-up with software. The sense of involvement is far less personal, and the frustration with sitting at a desk and playing with a computer does not make me feel artistic or creative. But, somewhere, a break-through has occurred, and I realized, when reviewing a lot of my photos, that the ones I enjoyed the most – looking at as well as creating – are the ones with a strong sense of line and shape, which in turn lead to a sense of movement or calm or a glimpse into another world.

I find that my photography is influenced by my study of sumi-e where the essential of something is far more important than the actual object. I also enjoy strong, graphical compositions, which can be seen in my favorite photos, and in some of my paintings. Dynamic lines and shapes are visually exciting and interesting as they lead your eye. Lines and shapes can also draw the viewer inward, into the heart of the artist.

In a gallery, whether physical or virtual, the first thing we do is look. Something suddenly attracts us, we hone in, and then begin to see. All this is subjective. A critic, though, will step back and look more objectively, and contemplate skill, rendering, compositional elements, contrast, detail, color, and so on. An artist must also do the same of his or her own work. The purpose of this is to learn from what we have done, and this becomes an impetus to continue, to learn more, to move in this or that direction. Critiquing one’s own work, and that of others, is an intellectual enterprise, while also being a subjective experience which leads to a complex of new emotions, thoughts, perspectives, and whatever else lies within. It is also another level of the artistic experience which works in strange and wonderful ways on creativity, vision, and expression.

Artists work to create expressions of an event, an experience, an emotion. Art can be visual, auditory, or experienced by other senses, such as touch or smell. Art can be kinetic – something we do physically. Art must be experienced – watching a play, seeing a painting, listening to a song, The artist experiences his own art by doing it, and then it is shared, and in the sharing, the artist moves beyond the moment and continues to grow. The same must be said for the viewer who participates by listening or seeing or doing. All together, art creates a mesh we all experience in our own unique ways, and binds us together in our humanity, creating a community whether or not we realize it, or choose to recognize or acknowledge it.

Color

I love color. Lots of color. The fact is, it is extremely difficult for me to buy things that, to me, do not have color. That means beige, white, and black. A Japanese kimono full of vibrant colors is far more interesting than the serenity of monochrome; Hawaiian shirts hold endless attraction. Prints intrigue me far more than a brilliant, single color.

Because color is so attractive, the absence of color in a painting – such as in sumi-e – and in photography – become endlessly fascinating in the variations of black-grey-white. Color reduction, meaning decolorization, can be done in various photo editing software programs. This pushes the photograph to near monochrome, but with an essence of color. The same may be done in an ink painting. Both become intriguing as the color draws the eye, but because of the lack of color elsewhere, it also becomes a messenger, speaking to the viewer on a symbolic level. Or, it can simply become an attractive element essential to a composition.

In sumi-e, there is a challenge in gradation and contrast. This is managed by both how the brush is loaded as well as forethought and knowledge as to how dark something will dry – or, more challenging – how light. Understanding the paper being used, the qualities of the ink stick, the subtleties of the brush become an art in themselves, all of which lead to the success or failure of the final painting.

In photography I am finding much the same challenge. In playing with software, such as Corel Paintshop Photo Pro X3 and Photoscape, I can take a colored photograph and either decolor it, separate it into multiple pre-press layers, or simply change it to a grey-scale image. Red flowers which look awful in color can become quite fascinating when rendered into black and white.

Composition also plays into photography, as much as it does in painting. Because one is physically doing a painting, I think that the elements of composition have time to unfold, and the unconscious works toward the final result long before the concept is visible to the artist. It is a slower process altogether.

The very nature of photography lends itself – especially with digital – to taking picture after picture after picture. Only now am I considering more carefully my compositions. Knowing I can crop and edit in software, as well as the fact I don’t have to pay for printing, lets me shoot all over, all and everything. This lets me play. Play is creative, fun, and educational. Happenstance leads to analysis in looking at photographs, which leads to thought about all the elements which come together, as they do in painting, to create the final image: light, subject, color, direction, contrast. As a result, I am developing the skills which permit me to think ahead a bit; these are the same skills, conscious or not, which I apply to a painting.

I am finding that my preferences in photography echo those I have for paintings. Simplicity and contrast. Less is more. Whether or not I succeed is up for question.

Composition: Some Thoughts

Composition is, by definition, the act or process of “arrangement into specific proportion or relation and especially into artistic form.” This can apply to written and visual arts, and other areas as well. Composition can be practical, it can be adventurous. Whatever it is, it is the individual’s sense of design.

One of the most challenging areas of composition is deciding how much is enough? That will be dependent on a number of things – what are you trying to express? In the old days, when photography did not exist, detail in Western art was much appreciated. Being able to capture realistically an object or person was highly prized. Detail was also valued in Asian art, but differently; scrolls made for a visual adventure, section by section, as can be seen in part of Long Scroll of Sesshu below, unlike the more limited flat surfaces of books.

Besides hand scrolls, multiple scrolls, such as this one presented in the Weng Collection’s catalog, hung side-by-side, created a larger work with individual panels, such as the triptych of Western art.

With photography, realistic and intimate recording of details became possible, and simplification and interpretative exploration began in the visual arts. Zen in the east influenced ink painting because of its simplicity and focus of the moment in which the painting or calligraphy was produced.

Simplicity may have multiple levels. A single line or movement may be repeated. Details can also be within those elements. For instance, in a garden, a curved walk may be the most dominant visual detail, but within that curve may be found many details, such as rocks or leaves or plants.

Simplicity by itself may fail. Placement of elements in that simple composition need to be considered. The most common compositional element discussed in photography is the Rule of Thirds. If you are unfamiliar with the rule, draw a tic-tac-toe grid: this is the Rule of Thirds. Where the lines intersect is where you should consider placing the subject of interest. Placement of subject in each of those four intersections gives a different energy to each picture. Using this same precept prevents placement of horizontal or vertical focal subject in the dead center of the picture.

A picture or painting based solely on horizontal and / or vertical elements is tedious. In this mix something needs to break this up. Diagonal lines, shapes such as circles or triangles, or curves are compositional elements which add visual interest. Balancing all of these can create a visually dynamic composition, but too much or wrongly placed, these same elements may destroy an otherwise compelling composition. At the same time, it is also necessary to consider colors, contrast, and scale. These, too, impact the final image.

How the eye is led to the focal point of the image is key to good composition. This can be called framing. In photography, placement of objects in the foreground is common. Shadows and bright areas are other ways to accomplish the directional sense in a composition. Combine these with diagonals or curves, and the eye is led along a visual path to the area of interest. In photography, this can be a bit of a challenge, but with cropping and airbrushing, distractions can be minimalized or removed. In painting, these elements are far more easily avoided.

In photography, the natural world continually gets in the way. We have all taken portraits of people with things protruding from their heads. Painting a portrait, this is much less likely to happen. Avoiding these distractions can be a challenge, simply because the photographer can be very focused on the subject. However, as one progresses in understanding composition, these become more than obvious, and easier to avoid. What is more subtle is an awareness of color. For example, a person in a blue jacket against a background similar in shade (degree of blackening) or color may be more difficult to assess. Similarity in color is called a merger. This is where an understanding of contrast is important.

Contrast may be high or low. High contrast images display few shades of grey; low contrast studies contain many. If you are not sure about this, take a color photo or paint a picture, and then change it to black and white in your photo editing software. It becomes much more apparent when you do this. Short scale / high contrast subjects can be very dynamic, and often this is more easily seen than the subtleties of long scale / low contrast subjects. Long scale subject matter can be very beautiful, but if there is a lack of adequate contrast compositionally and in adjacent areas, a weak picture may result.

* * *

In the four weeks since I started my photography class, my sense of framing a photograph has changed, as has my sense of color and composition. More than anything, though, I have become more aware of light and shadow. I’ve always liked the shimmering of light through leaves – as much as I love the rustling sounds – but now I find myself looking at shadows in general. Our next assignment is to use light – flash, strobe, whatever – in different ways, such as diffusing it or bouncing it or reflecting it. Of course, YouTube comes to the rescue on that note!

This short course has shifted my perceptions, and I am looking forward to seeing how it plays out in sumi-e. Today, my studio will lose its tenant, and I am looking forward to some quiet and privacy and being able to use my space again. My brushes and ink await.

Sumi-e Palm Tree, i

The other day I received a request to demonstrate painting a palm tree in sumi-e. As I have painted these in watercolor, but not in sumi, I thought I would do a bit of research. To do this, I just googled “palm tree” and clicked on “images.” You can also go to places like WebShots, Flickr, and so on, and do a search for palm trees. The reason I did this search is to look at the different types of palm trees, as well as consider which one might make the most interesting composition. Shape of the trunk, direction of the leaves, texture and structure all play important parts in a photograph and a painting. As sumi-e is shades of black-grey-white, I find these elements are especially important focal points.

The above photo is an amalgamation of numerous public domain images of palm trees, as well as one I took when I was in the British Virgin Islands several years ago. Some are very familiar to us here in SoCal, especially the top center one – these are the palms that are found lining the streets of Santa Monica.

I also have a couple of ACEOs I did of two different palm trees. The one on the left is a sago palm (I think). We have three of these in our back yard. The one to the right is a banana palm. Sagos are short, squat, and slow-growing. Their fronds are stiff and pointy. The banana palm is a much more “loose” palm – if such can be said – as its leaves fly around and are not serrated as most palm leaves.

Whenever I think about a painting, whether in watercolor or sumi, there are elements to consider. For me, the shape of the object on the page is perhaps the most important.

With sumi-e and other ink-painting traditions, the essence or spirit of the subject matter is important. I don’t think this is less important in modern Western painting, but scientifically exact and accurate rendition of an object is less important in the East.

This means that a sumi painting of a palm tree must catch the qualities of a palm tree. For me, the sound of a palm tree in a brisk wind is its most outstanding abstract feature. Fronds dancing in the wind would be an element to catch. Other elements which say “palm” to me are the trunks. Many have smooth trunks, such as can be seen in the pictures above, but the sago palm, the king palm and many other have rough trunks. Fronds are dropped from the tree and the trunk develops a very ragged quality. Do I want to re-create that texture?

As I have been thinking about doing another video about painting, this request has come at a perfect time.

Abstractio

As I wrote a bit earlier in my posts about my Chinese Painting Class, there is a challenge to start painting a subject when the knowledge that is gained by practice and by painting has slid by the wayside. In an effort to stop feeling frustrated and stressed out by the process, I decided to play. Play is part of growing up – and part of any art or skill acquisition – a way to try, explore, experiment, learn. I forget this way too much!

Relearning

The subject was peonies. I have done a few good ones. This is what I did that led to tears. To put it politely, it sucks.

Becoming very frustrated, I decided to practice some strokes in classical subjects which are the foundation for Asian painting: bamboo, orchid, chrysanthemum, plum.

Some memory returns, but the brush is far too wet.

Break the Rules

Rules exist to be broken. Many sumi painters paint traditional subjects, which are beautiful in variety and subtlety. Others move into areas far beyond the traditional expressions, meeting either excitement or criticism. The beauty of ink is its immediacy, and how it lends itself to spontaneous expression. However, this element of spontaneity comes with practice and experience, and without either, the dilettante remains such. The artist combines the repeated practice, the knowledge, the experience with the moment. All artists are dilettantes and students at times, and other times, they move into that time and space when it all comes together in a moment of mastery.

Next Steps . . .

Given these thoughts, I let it go.

Absorbent xuan paper – washes – diluted ink – pure ink – pure pigment – mixed pigment – water – no water. Playing with paper, ink, paint is a form of reacqaintance with old friends. Not having a goal, just going somewhere, and letting it lead you into itself.

I am not an abstract painter, but I am not a realistic one, either. I prefer suggestion. Purely abstract adventures are rather frightening – nothing recognizable on which to get a toehold – only a plummeting in, down, out – moving with the moment.

First one done, very timid. I realize just how much I’ve forgotten! One thing that is very important to remember is that the color of Chinese paint becomes a lot light – mucho mucho! – when it dries.

These next few, I diluted the paint and ink considerably less. I sprayed the paper in some areas, applied ink and then painted over it, flicked the paint, pushed and smooshed and let the ink or color bleed in.

I rather like the above two paintings.

Continuing along the same path, I remembered that I have some acrylic paints, Golden Fluid Acrylics, which are a dilute paint (not less pigment, just thinner, like cream) and some others with sparkly effects. This painting is ink and dilute acrylic. Unfortunately, the sparkles don’t show up in the photo, but they do add a nice quality to the finished picture below. I’m actually rather pleased with this one. It makes me think of looking up into an oak tree, seeing the leaves against a bright sun.

And finally, this. I think this is my favorite. Unfortunately, the photo is not the best. This one was a bit more planned, with colors more carefully considered, warms and cools placed in some specific areas. Splatters, too, and drips were done with more conscious thought. Not all of it was planned out. Ink was added before, during, and after the colors. The paper was sprayed at various times. The point of this painting was to try to incorporate what I learned from all the above, and work to see if my thoughts would produce specific results. Did it work? Yes and no.