Fiord Fantasia (watercolor) by Polly Castor
“Every good composition is above all a work of abstraction.” Diego Rivera 1886-1957
“If you could say it in words, there’d be no reason to paint.” Edward Hopper
“The most significant thing an artist can do is change our way of seeing.” Milton Glaser, Time Magazine 5/16/90
“I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.” Pablo Picasso
“Art seems to me to be a state of soul more than anything else.” Marc Chagall
“In order to approach the spiritual in art, one employs reality as little as possible.” Piet Mondrian
“A ‘good’ abstract painting is when the picture has ‘an autonomous reality.’” Werner Schmalenbach, Masterpieces of 20th Century Art
“Abstraction is the language of visual energy… Composition is about mapping visual energy and its ability to unify the image.” Glenn Felch (my workshop teacher)
The large 22” x 30” painting I did today (shown above) shows how to arrive at unity in an abstract painting through the use of “congruent energies.” This was achieved with a close value relationship, uniform color saturation, and evenly balanced distribution of the energy across the “picture plane.” What is most important is the overall energy effect, with plenty of nuance to dwell on.
The two paintings below were exercises. The one surrounded by black is “wet-on-wet technique” with the direct method. The top half of the one below that utilizes the indirect method, with salt applied to add texture to the lower wet-on-wet technique. I learned that only “staining colors” work with the salt, and that for the salt to work, the paper must be thoroughly wet before the application of those paints.
In the evening were camp-wide hands-on activities led in turn by the screenwriting teacher and the sculpture teacher. We separated into groups of three and collaborated on writing a movie scene in proper format. We then shared them with the group; some were hilarious and some touching. After that we separated into different groups of three and with clothing, balloons, wire, rope, tape and pins were to make a person to string from the rafters. We got very silly and innovative doing this, and my group’s “person” is shown below with a wire head and limp balloon hair. Below ours are several others.
Exhausted on the windy way to bed, the milky way was enunciating boldly, unobstructed. We heard it clearly with deep awe.
