Through Thick and Thin

"Sunwashed"
8 x 12, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

I have been thinking lately about variety. Everybody knows the saying that "Variety is the spice of life." It is also the spice of ART. If you have been reading along with me, you may recall the quote from Arthur Wesley Dow: "There is a certain beauty in a contrast of large and small. It is the opposite of Monotony." Contrasts avoid monotony. They are what give rise to variety, and they can truly make a painting sing.

Dow mentioned the contrast of large and small, but there are many other contrasts that bring life to a painting. One of them concerns
the surface quality of the painting--thick and thin. It's a good thing, in my book, when some areas of the painting have very thick impasto paint, and others have very thin paint.

Sometimes thick paint can serve to bring the eye to a certain area of the painting. It helps create a focal point. For example, in the top painting, I used thick strokes of paint on the shutters and the facade near them. But I used very thin paint in the foreground. The idea behind this approach was to make the window area a focal point of the painting.

"Still Standing"
16 x 12, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2015

In the painting of the arch, I used thick paint at the top of the arch to draw the eye up to that point. I used thin paint in the lower passages. I thought that thick paint on the stones below would create too much clutter and distract from the power of the arch. I believe that the thin paint makes the lower portion of the canvas more restful (consistent with the fallen stones now at rest on the ground), and the arch more energetic. At least that was my strategy! Stay tuned for more about variety in painting...