One, Two, Three...

(c) Maggie Siner, 2016

I have just returned from several weeks in France--the highlight of which was a week long workshop with the inimitable Maggie Siner. We had a wonderful group of ten painters. As always, I learned a great deal from my fellow painters, as well as from Maggie.

One thing I took away from the lessons with Maggie is the benefit of simplifying the landscape into simple shapes. Maggie's related to us some wisdom from Robert D'Arista, which lodged in my mind as the concept that we can

can only comprehend a certain number of things at once. The mind sees "One, Two, or Three" things. After that, we just perceive "Many" things. From this I deducted that if we can limit the number of shapes in the landscape, the mind of the viewer will be more satisfied, and the painting will be stronger.

(c) Robyn Spence, 2016

In keeping with this concept, we started the week with exercises that I used to see the landscape as a series of several shapes, or "jumps in space". A shape for foreground, a shape for middle ground, a shape for distance. But not just any shapes will do! The arrangement of the shapes into a strong composition is key. And the shapes themselves must be good ones. What makes a good shape? Drawing on what Maggie says, and also on the teachings of others, I reminded myself that good shapes have certain traits: they are  unique, strong, beautiful, and interlocking. Hmmmm. And here's another key point I took away:  the color relationships of the shapes must be perfectly tuned. Easier said than done!

(c) Jane Robertson, 2016

The top painting is Maggie's. The proof is in the pudding--this little painting tells it all about the wheat fields and the distant mountains. Beautiful! Just below that one is a painting by Robyn Spence. She was looking in the opposite direction, and I love the way her painting captures the fields and leads you back into the distance.

The third painting comes from the brush of Jane Robertson. She was looking the same way as Robin, but as always, each painter sees the landscape in her own way. Jane's shapes are really interesting, and I love the way she made them interlock. These are all beautiful paintings--and they prove that sometimes less is more.

(c) Lesley Powell, 2016

The final painting is my own humble attempt. It was the same field that Maggie painted, but it was painted more than two hours after Maggie's. The colors had changed, of course, as the sun got higher in the sky.. But I think you can feel the heat when you look at this one. It's all about capturing the moment! Stay tuned for more bulletins from the workshop... Meanwhile, check out some of my favorite images involving simple shapes by clicking here.