Seeing Form

Le Pont Julien
(Photo: Lesley Powell)

Moving forward with my posts on the workshop in France, I am devoting this post to the morning we spent at Pont Julien. After several days of painting landscapes and far distances, we were taken to Pont Julien so we could focus on a nearer object. Our focus was  on FORM, and how light on a form creates planes and shapes.

And what a form!  Pont Julien is an exquisite bridge that dates from 3 BC. It was built by order of Julius Caesar, after whom it is named. The bridge has a series of perfectly proportioned arches, and is built of limestone taken from the surrounding hills. Thanks to the marvels of Roman engineering, the stones were set so perfectly that no mortar was required. The bridge carried vehicular traffic until the early 2000's--which makes for two thousand years of continuous use. About this time we are all thinking the same thing: "They don't make 'em like they used to."

Maggie finding her rectangle

But I digress. The point is our painting lesson. The arches of the bridge were perfect subjects for working to capture different planes, and identifying where planes shift. They were also great foils a lesson in composition--learning to arrange our paintings with interesting patterns of darks and lights. How do you make a great composition? The right placement of dark and light shapes. Simple! Or as Maggie says, "The repetition of shapes makes a melody".

Painting architectural elements really makes you realize how fast the sun moves--shadows shifted and light areas became dark, all in the twinkling of an eye. A plein air painter has to be fast! I did my first painting on the "dark" side of the bridge (the west side when it is morning)(photo below). It turned out OK, but was really just a warm up to the real event of the day.

Pont Julien Study I

My best work came when I moved to the other side of the bridge. It was almost blindingly bright in the morning sun. I painted a very high key painting. After laboring for an hour and a half on the first effort, the second  canvas was done in a third of that time. It was one of those things that happens only occasionally, when everything just seems to go right. I was truly "in the zone", painting from the gut, making decisions quickly, not over-thinking. Here is the painting as photographed that afternoon--still with pieces of grit from the scene and masking tape at the corners!

For those of you who are interested in such things, here is a photo of my setup:

And here's a shot of Maggie and some of our workshop group, tired but satisfied after a hard morning's work. Note the most important fashion accessory for plein air painters: a very wide-brimmed hat!