Tonight my husband and I went to the preview of the new movie Ken Burns has created on our National Parks. While watching and listening to Ken's and his partner's articulation of why our National Parks are the ultimate enactment of our Democracy, I wondered if this communal stewardship of our land is part of a fundamental need to paint what we experience there. There is no question but that the driving need of folks who come to my studio to study is wanting to communicate their experiences with nature.
While for the beginner abstract expression is easier as it does not 'require' the skills of seeing and composing the landscape artist must have, folks seem to really want to hold up what they have witnessed. But landscape is hard. Painting the landscape is far harder than any other form. No question the human form is hard, but it can broken down into geometric shapes and if one learns anatomy- which is very learnable- the human form can be expressed. But the landscape includes so much information. There is also the inclination to just want to copy what one sees without composing or interpreting. Nature is a muck with structured chaos. How does the human hand, which wants to regulate line and form, depict the random order of Nature?
Somethings I try are the following:
1. In watercolor, squirting the page and dropping in the paint. But for this I must have clearly envisioned the light and dark patterns. But the organic blooms of water moving pigment are more 'natural' than anything my hand can do. watercolor is the most powerful tool for this because the under painting can be completely fluid. I can then build and carve shapes out of these watery patterns but it is these patterns which create the foundation of amorphous shapes.
2. In pastel relaxing the wrist and letting the hand/wrist/elbow movement create marks which have energy. Upon these less controlled marks, I can carve out the realism.
3. In Asian Ink painting it is making sure that every flower petal is articulated Check to see that each leaf, petal and flower center have movement in line and direction.
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