R. Davies Art

When people think of the how of painting, the direct method of painting is what many people assume most painters use, and this is largely the case for most abstract and much of realist painting. The indirect method is currently making a comeback, and I may discuss it in another post. For now, the direct method, which seems simple, but if done well, is surprisingly complicated. To start, you may or may not have an underdrawing, tone, or underpainting, but you will have a series of brush strokes that are as precise as possible. The paint will be mixed to the exact hue and value--shade, tint, tone--lifted from the palette with the exact size and shape brush needed for the expected mark and deliberately applied by dragging the color on the tip of the brush, not the bristles across the desired area. The artist may twist the brush, press to fan it out, or manipulate it in some other way to get the exact brush shape desired to make the exact mark. If the mark is incorrect or inarticulate, i

This painting is inspired by Sadie Valeri's use of wax paper in her still lifes. In this case, I used the green florist paper that the rose came in. The challenge with still life is to produce something that resembles what we actually see. Many people are unable to simply be in the moment and see what is actually there. We "know" that the edge of an object is hard and we paint that exact and strong edge, but the truth is, we actually only see a hard edge when we directly look at a very small portion of reality that is before us. Edges attract attention. We flit from edge to edge and as we flit, each edge comes into exact focus. If you want to see what I mean, it is easy enough and you may simply say, "Duh!", but it bears examining. Find an object within a few feet (2-5 ft.) and stare at a hard edge. Make it a boundary edge that defines the break between the object and the space behind it. Keeping your focus on that edge, notice how blurry the background is--